Like You've Never Seen Her Before
by Falco-JIS
Summary: This is the tale of the lovely Peach Toadstool. For years she has been loved by many. However, Peach has a very deep and dark secret about herself that can affect the world. Will she remain as a sweet princess, or will she become a cruel beast? Ch.30 out!
1. Foreword

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Princess Peach (C) Nintendo.

**Foreword **

There is usually peace and prosperity in the Mushroom Kingdom. But that will all change because of the fate of many people decided by one woman. Because of the events she has seen in her childhood and many other factors along the way, she is probably the darkest and cruelest Queen to ever rule the Mushroom Kingdom. Her thirst places fear in the hearts of many. In this era, there are only two sides to join: her side or the side against her. In this era, there are only two fates to choose from: to live and survive in her world or to surrender to her and die. Whose side will you choose?


	2. A Child's Discovery

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach (C) Nintendo.

**A Child's Discovery**

It was a dark cool night in the streets of the Mushroom Kingdom. Yellow moonlight glowed the night while there was a cool crisp breeze flowing by. There was a young girl in a pink dress who was roughly the age of ten walking in the depth of the streets. Her beautiful blonde hair waved gently with the breeze. She did not know why she would sneak around the streets at night, but she could not help but do it. It had been happening for three nights so far. She had a feeling that she had to look for something; but what? Now her small pink dress was making sounds like a flag waving on its pole. She went to a corner so that the wind would not touch her.

Suddenly the girl heard voices, which gradually turned into screams and cries. She craned around the corner of a building to see what was going on. It was a bloody scene. She saw two muscular men with clubs and two bodies on the floor, their bones crushed and skull cracked open. One of the bodies was of a man and the other of a woman. The girl saw a pair of fangs in the mouths of the carcasses.

_"That's odd,"_ the girl thought, _"How could these two people have long fangs?"_

She heard the two muscular men laugh as if they enjoyed killing people every night. The girl kept as silent as possible because she was afraid that her fate would be the same as the two bodies if she grabbed any attention.

"That was fun. That'll show them damn vampires not to mess with us civilized people," said one of the men.

"I know. But I guess that there are no vampires out now, so I think we should be going now," said the other man.

With that, the men left in a direction opposite of where the girl was spying. She felt terrible. Civilized people? Guys with clubs that whacked people until their heads smashed would not be considered civilized people to her.

Also, that night she had found out something new that would change her life forever: that vampires existed. She could not believe it. Sometimes in her life, she would have nightmares of them. In addition, the fangs in the mouths of the bodies were proof that vampires were real. But the girl's mother would always tell her that vampires were creatures of fantasy and did not exist. Could her mother have lied to her or did her mother not know the real truth? She could not be certain.

Now she did not know who was worse, those murderous men or bloodthirsty vampires. For some reason she felt more sympathetic towards the vampires. The two dead vampires might have been husband and wife. How horrible. How heartless. The girl waited until the two men's footsteps would disappear. Then she left and proceeded to her home.

At the crack of dawn, the girl arrived to her home. It was a large beautiful castle with spires and red roofing. There was a stain glass picture on the castle of a beautiful woman with blond hair and flowers around her. The girl could not enter from the main door because somebody would notice that she went wandering off at night. She entered from a secret passage into the castle hidden by a bush. Once she was inside, she felt very safe in the royal interior of the castle; there would be no men with clubs attempting to beat her up. She went into her room and climbed on to her bed. Out the window, she could see a little crack of sunlight. She knew it was very late. She tried her best to sleep but could not sleep because of what she saw that night. Gradually though, her eyes closed and her mind became blank…


	3. The Hostage and the Refugee

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach Toadstool, Daisy Toadstool, Toad and Tatanga (C) Nintendo.  
Strawberry Toadstool, Lily Toadstool, Martha Bayne and Peter Bayne (C) me.

**The Hostage and the Refugee**

"Peach… Peach, wake up," said a woman's voice.

The girl slowly opened her eyes and saw her mother waking her up. Just like the girl, her mother was blonde and wore a pink dress, except the mother looked more adult and had a tint of orange in her blonde hair. The girl glanced at the clock, which read 11:01 A.M. She was wandering around outside for so long that she woke up too late. Her mother must have been worried about her.

"Good morning Mother," said Peach softly.

"And good morning to you Daughter."

She looked at her daughter worryingly.

"What's the matter Mother?"

"It's just that I'm worried about you Peach. You have been waking up late these days and you have been sleepy. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine Mother. You don't have to worry me."

"I sure hope so dear. Now get up and be ready for breakfast."

"Yes Mother."

Peach's mother left the bedroom out of sight. Peach always felt safe with her mother. She did not blame her mother for worrying about her. Peach did not want to make it worse by telling her mother that she had been wandering around at the dead of night. That would worry her sick.

After breakfast, Peach's mother was reading the morning paper.

"Okay, today is Thursday, May 3rd 1984. Now let's see here..."

It was pretty much okay in society, except for one article.

"Oh my goodness! Peach, come take a look at this," Peach's mother called.

"Coming Mother."

When Peach saw what her mother was reading, it almost made her want to barf. Apparently, Peach's mother was reading about the event that Peach saw with her own eyes last night.

"It says here that Mr. Peter Bayne and Mrs. Martha Bayne were brutally murdered last night."

Those must have been the husband and wife vampires whose heads burst like watermelon from horrible physical abuse last night.

"That's terrible!" said Peach.

"There's more. It says that nobody knows who murdered them and it seems that their skulls were broken open."

Peach now felt very sick. This was completely inhuman.

"How are they supposed to be buried, Mother?" asked Peach.

"I honestly have no clue Daughter."

Then Peach suddenly noticed that there was a picture provided with the article. It showed the vampire couple dead on the ground. Everything in the picture was accurate to the details she saw last night, except for the fangs. The Baynes did not have fangs in the picture. But she saw their fangs last night. Did somebody remove their fangs so that it seemed that vampires did not exist? But vampires did exist, that is why the Baynes were killed in the first place. Peach did not like this censorship at all, but she could not just tell her mother that the Baynes were vampires; her mother would think that she was crazy.

"You know, we should make sure that nobody is lurking around at night," said Peach's mother.

"That's a splendid idea Mother."

Peach knew that her mother would make the right decisions to solve problems such as this.

But all a sudden Peach saw Toadan run towards her mother in a panicky matter. He was of the Toadish people who were short beings with mushroom-caps on their head. The Toadish in the castle served as Royal Retainers for Peach and her mother.

"Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!" yelled Toadan.

"What happened, Toad?" asked Peach's mother. Toadan was usually referred as just 'Toad.'

"It's horrible! Queen Lily of the Sarasa Kingdom was captured by Tatanga!"

"What!?"

"I know this is terrible news, but the Sarasa Kingdom has sent their Princess here for refuge."

"Bring her here."

"Yes, Your Highness."

A girl with brown hair and clad in a yellow dress entered the throne room. She had a nervous and worried look on her face.

"_Forget the murderous men from last night,"_ Peach thought. _"Having your mother taken hostage is even more terrible."_ Peach felt sorry for the Sarasan Princess.

"Hello Daisy," said Peach's mother.

"Good morning Aunt Strawberry. And good morning to you Cousin Peach," said Daisy weakly.

"Good morning Daisy," said Peach, in a welcoming tone in hope of making Daisy feel a little better.

"Aunt, will my mother be okay?" asked Daisy.

"Don't worry Daisy. We will do everything in our power to get Lily back."

"Thank you Aunt," said Daisy hopefully yet gloomily.

Peach could see tears in Daisy's eyes. She did not want to know how it was like to have her own mother missing like that.

"We'll get your Mother back, but for now you can stay in our guest room. Toad, get Daisy's things to the guest room."

"Yes, your highness."

Daisy followed Toad to the guest room. Peach and Strawberry were still in the throne room.

"Mother?"

"Yes dear."

"I have a question, who's Tat–a–"

"Tatanga?"

"Yeah, that person's name. Who is he?"

"Tatanga is an evil being who owns a spaceship. He lives in the desserts of the Sarasa Kingdom. Because of the weapons he possesses, he is a very dangerous opponent to take down. But I honestly don't know why he captured Lily."

"This must be very terrible for her."

"Don't worry Peach. We'll get Lily back from that terrible fiend."

Meanwhile in the middle of the deserts of Birabuto, a sector of the Sarasa Kingdom, there was a hidden entrance into an underground den. The den looked like a palace on the inside. A spaceship entered the den and two people departed. One of them was a beautiful woman with wavy brown hair and an elegant yellow dress. However, her face apparently had a frown of frustration and worriment. The other person was a short alien-like creature with purple skin. He had a maniacal look on his face.

"I demand you to tell me why you've taken me hostage to this place Tatanga!" Lily commanded.

"Don't be hasty my sweetheart. I'll explain everything to you once we're comfy in the leisure room," said Tatanga coolly.

"What the hell do you mean by 'sweetheart'?!" Lily growled. She was staring at him dangerously.

"Why are you staring at me like that dear?" said Tatanga nervously, "You look like you're going to kill me."

"Actually, that's exactly what I'm going to do!"

Before Tatanga could move, Lily grabbed Tatanga's neck and choked him vigorously.

"_Akk…_ Let go of me!" Tatanga gagged.

"You have done enough to hinder me and my kingdom. Now take me back to my castle or die!"

"_Guards!__Aaakkkk…_"

Two goons came in and grabbed the Queen so that she could not do harm.

"Let go of me you stupid thugs!" Lily yelled.

Tatanga got himself back together and smirked.

"Hmmm… Quite a feisty one indeed. Don't worry my dear; you will soon learn to love me."

"Love you!? I'll never love you or your accursed kind!"

"Oh how sweet. Not trying to admit your love for me."

"What!? Why I ought to–"

"Take her away," Tatanga ordered.

The goons took Lily into the leisure room. They softly set her on a nice green couch. She decided to cooperate for a moment and sat comfortably on the couch. Tatanga came in and sat on an armchair opposite of her.

"Okay, I'll ask softly. Why have you captured me? My people must be very worried about me, especially my daughter. Can you please take me back to my home and leave me alone?"

Lily hoped that her innocent voice would convince Tatanga, but it failed. He was laughing.

"You think your sweet talk will work on me? Think again. You are staying here with me forever, my love," said Tatanga

Lily's voice was not innocent anymore.

"Why are you talking to me about all this love nonsense? Didn't I say that I didn't love you? In fact, I hate you with all my heart!"

"Why do you lie to me my dear? I can see it in your eyes. You love me."

"NO I DON'T! Do you want me to try to suffocate you again?!"

"Oh yes. I forgot that you're quite a tough person to take down. But that's why I have guards to tame such people. And if you do misbehave, I'll throw you into a cage to keep you under control."

"I don't care if you cage me. That will only prove that you treat me like a wild animal and not your 'beloved'."

Tatanga was very awestruck by what she said. He did not know what to do now. He could not cage her because that would be like treating her as a wild animal. Nevertheless, if he did not cage her, she would go and choke him again. He could only hope that she would cooperate. It seemed that she had trapped him. But he continued straight to the point.

"Lily, my darling, we are going to have our wedding tomorrow. We are getting your wedding gown ready as we speak. I hope you will accept me as your husband."

Lily could not believe what he was saying. A wedding? It was no wonder he was acting in a loving way with her. Now she was very disappointed and disgusted with him, but she kept her temper down.

"So that's why you captured me," said Lily quietly, "Don't you have any shame? I was already married and I have a daughter for goodness sake."

But Tatanga did not look like he cared if she was already married.

"I already knew that you have a daughter. But speaking of your daughter, where is she?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Don't lie to me. Where is she?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"That you don't have to know until I get her. Now tell me."

"I'm not saying anything once I know why you want her."

"Fine, so that I can exterminate her."

Lily could not believe what he said. Kill Daisy? What a horrible thought! She was really angry now.

"What!? How could you?" Lily exclaimed, "She is my daughter. No one will harm her. Especially not you!"

"You don't understand my sweetheart. You are now starting a new life. Forget your old life. I'm just erasing your past. It's time for your future. Don't worry, you'll have children again."

"Hey, don't go that far! I didn't even say that I wanted to marry you. And honestly, I don't know where Daisy is. Okay?"

"All right, I'll find the pipsqueak myself. Don't worry my dear. I'm only doing this for you."

Lily did not say anything at first. She was depressed and afraid. Tatanga was too powerful, which meant that the chances for her daughter's survival were very slim.

"You should know something Tatanga. If you really love me that much, then please don't kill my precious daughter and return me where I really belong."

"That I'll never do. Oh by the way, I don't care anymore if I treat you like a wild animal. You still have to learn how to accept me as you husband. You will be sent to room where you can think over your decision of marring me."

The two goons came back to hold Lily vulnerable again. Once again, Lily was struggling to be free of their grip. Then another minion came into the room and whispered into Tatanga's ear. Tatanga looked very happy after hearing what the minion had to say and dismissed him. Lily was trying to struggle free and she was giving Tatanga a deadly stare.

"Good news my sweetie. Your wedding dress is ready for you and it should look very wonderful on you," said Tatanga excitedly.

"Oh really? How would such a disgusting person – hold on, let me rephrase that – disgusting animal like you provide me with a beautiful dress?"

"Show her," Tatanga commanded to a minion.

The minion brought in a model dummy wearing the dress. It was very gorgeous. Lily was stunned, in fact so stunned that when the goons put her down and she did not even bother trying to run away. She just stood there staring at the pearly white dress. It seemed to look like it would fit her elegant figure perfectly. In addition, the designs on the dress looked even more splendid. In addition, the veil that came with it looked very pretty too. Now she felt the urge to have that dress.

"Is so beautiful," said Lily dreamily.

However, she suddenly remembered the horrible situation she was currently facing. How could she think of a dress over her daughter's fate? She quickly felt disappointed at herself.

"I knew that you would like it," said Tatanga, "Guards, take our lovely queen to her room. And be careful! She's fragile."

The goons took Lily to a lovely room that was apparently setup for her to live in. The goons closed the door behind them. Lily could not believe that she was so fond of that dress to notice that her daughter was at risk of being killed. She sat quietly on the bed staring at the floor thinking…


	4. A Foreign Friend and Extra Aid

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Toad, Toadsworth, Tatanga, the Mushroom Kingdom, and the Sarasa Kingdom (C) Nintendo.  
SimNation (C) Maxis and EA Games.  
Strawberry, Lily, Peter Charles, Toadstine, Ryan Yold, George Denis, and Hector Gumbol (C) me.

**A Foreign Friend and Extra Aid**

"Your Highness, do you think that we should get extra aid in our predicament?" asked Toad.

"What type of aid?" asked Strawberry.

"Like our ally, Mr. Charles."

"That's an excellent idea! Good thinking. How could I not think of getting help from such a great friend? Toad, get the phone."

"Of course Your Highness."

Toad got the phone and gave it to the Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom. She dialed the number of President Peter Charles of SimNation.

Meanwhile in the Executive Offices of SimNation, a secretary went to the President to notify him that he had a phone call. Both the secretary and the President wore business suits. The President had blonde hair and a young face, even thought he was older then he looked and was wise.

"President Charles, it's for you," said the secretary.

"Who is it?" asked Charles.

"It's the Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom."

Peter Charles took the phone.

"Hello."

"Hello. It's me, Strawberry Toadstool."

"Oh, good morning, Mrs. Toadstool. How are things in your kingdom?"

"We are pretty much fine here. But we do have a problem though."

"What happened?"

"My sister, Queen Lily of the Sarasa Kingdom has been taken hostage by her nemesis, Tatanga."

"That's not good! What do you suppose we do?"

"I'm thinking that Tatanga wants Daisy too. Daisy is safe in my castle, but maybe he thinks that she is still in the Sarasan Palace. If we can send our troops there before Tatanga decides to go there, then we'll have the upper hand and we can take him down."

"That sounds like an excellent plan. I'll get my troops ready now. Good bye for now and take care."

"You too."

Strawberry hanged up the phone happily. She knew that she could rely on her friend. The Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasa Kingdom, and SimNation were a triangle of friendship. That was because of the Star Union Accords, a doctrine that was established a while ago. They would help each other in very critical situations.

"Toadsworth," Strawberry called.

A person who looked very similar to Toad and the other Royal Retainers arrived into the throne room. He looked older than the others too.

"Yes, my Queen," said the old steward.

"Can you tell the General to get our army ready? We are sending them to the Sarasan Palace to stop Tatanga."

"Yes madam."

Toadsworth left the throne room to perform his assigned task.

"So let me get this strait. Tata… or whatever-his-name-is captured Queen Lily Toadstool and is probably going to go to the Sarasa Castle to get Princess Daisy?" said Secretary of Defense, Ryan Yold.

"That's what Queen Strawberry said," said Peter Charles.

"So now we have to get our army ready?"

"Exactly."

"Alright. I'll notify everyone what happened. We should be able to get our troops ready fast."

"Excellent."

"You really miss your mother, don't you?" said Peach.

"Yes, very much," said Daisy quietly.

The two princesses were talking in Peach's bedroom for several minutes. Daisy tried her best to keep back her tears. But they would leak out.

"Don't worry Daisy, my mother will find a way to get your mother back from that Tatanga person."

"For some reason, it doesn't as easy as it sounds."

Peach agreed. She remembered her mother telling her about how dangerous Tatanga was.

Strawberry came into Peach's room with a small smile on her face. Both Peach and Daisy wondered what happened that would make the Mushroomer Queen happy in this predicament.

"Good news girls. We are getting international aid from SimNation," said Strawberry.

"You mean the nation of cities west of us?" asked Daisy.

"Precisely. Our army and their army will go to the Sarasa Castle and be rid of Tatanga's raid for good."

"Great!" said Peach happily, "Don't worry Daisy. We'll get your mother back for sure!"

Daisy's tears started to fade away. She gave a small smile indicating that this was good news.

Lily was starting to lose hope. She looked at the clock, which read 5:34 P.M. It had been hours since she was captured. It would be a matter of time before Tatanga would go capture her daughter and destroy her. Then she suddenly heard the door open. A goon walked in and grabbed Lily and took her to the living room where Tatanga was waiting.

"I have legs you know!" Lily yelled at the goon who dragged her all the way to the living room.

"My Lily, it is time to go get your precious daughter now," said Tatanga.

"Don't you dare call her precious! I know that you want to kill her!"

Tatanga ignored her.

"Oh by the way, I'll be bringing you with me. If I go alone, your irritating army will try to fire at me with no mercy. But if I bring you with me, they will hold their fire and do what I tell them. Understand?"

Lily did not say anything, but some minions came and seated her into the spaceship by force. They strapped her well, so that she would not be flying fists at anyone. The spaceship took off any flied to the Sarasan Palace in Sarasa City.

"General Toadstine. What do you propose we do?"

The armies of the Mushroom Kingdom and SimNation arrived at the royal castle in the Sarasa Kingdom. The place was very beautiful with a lovely flower garden and a marble path to the castle. General Toadstine of the Mushroom Kingdom and Sergeant George Denis of SimNation tried to plan a way to take down Tatanga. Toadstine was of the Toadish just like Toad except Toadstine wore a red general's suit and had a small white moustache. George Denis was a tall, brown haired man with much skill like Toadstine.

"Alright Sergeant Denis, I have a plan. We will hide behind the many pillars supporting the castle. When Tatanga is off guard, we will fire at him at full force and kill any of his minions that come with him. This will be a surprise attack," Toadstine explained.

"That sounds like an excellent plan. But we will have to hide all the tanks and canons from vicinity," Denis suggested.

"You have a point Sergeant Denis. We won't need the tanks and canons. Queen Strawberry said that Tatanga was coming here only to capture Princess Daisy. So that would mean that Tatanga will go inside the castle."

"Alright men! Evacuate the tanks and canons! We will only need guns!" Sergeant Denis commanded.

Soldiers started moving tanks and canons out of vicinity so it would look like that there was not a war zone in the area.

Then another army arrived at the palace. Their uniform indicated that the Sarasa Army had arrived, headed by Sergeant Hector Gumbol. Hector Gumbol was an elder man with a fancy black moustache and a sand-colored general's suit. The commanders saluted at each other.

"Good afternoon Sergeant Gumbol," said Toadstine and Denis.

"Good afternoon men. I see we are going to attack Tatanga head on," said Gumbol.

"Oh no, we aren't attacking head on. We are going to perform a surprise attack on him," said Denis.

"Sounds like a better idea," said Gumbol.

Toadstine then explained the plan to Gumbol. He seemed very impressed. Several minutes later, all soldiers were in their hiding positions and all tanks and canons were evacuated. Then they suddenly heard a humming sound. It was getting louder and louder. They saw a spaceship arrive and land just outside the castle doors. An alien, woman, and four minions came out the ship. Apparently, they were Tatanga, Lily, and some minions of Tatanga. Lily was tied up and was not able to talk because her mouth was covered by a piece of cloth. They opened the doors to the castle and came in. Tatanga, his minions, and Lily arrived into the throne room, which was beautifully decorated.

"This place is beautiful. We should have our wedding ceremony in this wonderful palace of yours. Don't you think so my Lily?" said Tatanga.

But the only things that would come out of Lily's mouth were faded cries for help.

"My minions… set my precious on her throne. This will be her last time sitting on that throne," said Tatanga.

The goons set Lily on her throne still tied up. But they untied the cloth covering the mouth.

"Please, I beg of you! Don't kill my precious daughter! I'll do anything for her survival!" Lily cried.

"Anything?" Tatanga asked mischievously.

"Yes, Anything! Just don't take her away! Please!"

There were tears rolling down Lily's soft cheeks. However, Tatanga just laughed at the matter.

"You still don't get it. I'm just doing this to erase your miserable past."

"My past wasn't miserable! It was better in the past than now, thanks to you!"

"My minions, search for Daisy!" commanded Tatanga, continuing to ignore Lily's cries.

The minions went upstairs to search Daisy but did not realize that they would be trapped. Back in the throne room, Lily was silent, but still had tears rolling down her face. Tatanga was standing in the middle of the room, away from the throne, looking around the room in amazement. Neither seemed to talk. Suddenly, Tatanga heard gunshots upstairs. He started to panic a little.

"What the hell is going on up there?" Tatanga mumbled.

BANG!

All a sudden Tatanga heard a bang and fell to the floor in immense pain. Purple blood started to spill out and oozed down his hand trying to hold down on the wound. To his surprise, the armies of the three nations surrounded Tatanga. They were hiding behind the pillars in the room. One of the troops pointed a gun at Tatanga, indicating that he shot Tatanga. Lily just stared awestruck at the scene. Would this finally be the end of Tatanga?

"Ha! We finally caught you Tatanga. You shouldn't have stood vulnerable. If you were a little closer to the Queen, we would probably hold our fire," said Toadstine.

Four troops came in the throne room, each dragging a dead minion of Tatanga.

"Sir, all of Tatanga's servants were found and shot on sight," Said one of the troops.

"Excellent," said Denis.

"_So…ooo…o th...h…aaa…t's wh...errr…e tthh…hhh…e n…oo…iss…e c…cc…aa…mm…e ff…rrr…oommm,_" Tatanga wheezed. Not much people understood what he was saying,

Two troops went to the Queen to untie her. Even after being untied, Lily was still speechless and continued to stare at the situation. If all the goons were dead and Tatanga is dieing on the floor, than that meant Daisy was okay. A spark of hope ignited within her. Then Gumbol faced Tatanga.

"You have done enough crimes and enough killing our people and enough of harassing our Queen! DIE!"

"_Pp…llllee…eeaaasss…e. Hhhee…lll...pp m…mmm...eeee,_" Tatanga wheezed again, "_I'll…lll bb…eee gg…ooo…d._"

But Gumbol did not care about a word Tatanga said and shot him five times on the head. Tatanga was long gone, moaning to death. A lot of purple blood oozed out his head and polluted the beautiful floor of the throne room. Lily did not believe it. Tatanga was finally dead. She was glad that he was gone for good so that he would never bother her or her kingdom again.

"It's over," whispered Lily in relief.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" asked Gumbol.

Gumbol and the other two generals bowed at Lily. The rest of the soldiers in the room followed.

"I'm fine General, but where's my precious Daisy?"

"She is coming."

Lily looked at the main door to the throne room and noticed it was open. Four people came in. One was a woman, one was a man, and the other two were girls. Lily was relived when she recognized them as Strawberry, Peter Charles, Peach, and Daisy. Now it was definite that Daisy was all right. Seeing her mother, Daisy ran up to Lily to hug her.

"Mother, are you okay?"

"Don't worry dear, it's finally over. We won't be separated again."

Lily turned to her sister.

"Strawberry, was Daisy with you through the predicament?"

"Yes. Daisy was sent to us for safety," said Strawberry.

"Thank goodness." Lily sighed in relief.

"I'm glad to see you okay Your Highness," said Charles.

"Thank you very much. I am grateful of all of you. I do not know what to do in return, sorry to say."

Lily now had tears of joy.

"That's all right," said Toadstine.

Then suddenly Lily remembered the beautiful wedding dress that Tatanga was going to make her wear for his wedding. It was a disturbing thought, almost haunting at this rate.

"Is there something wrong Lily?" asked Strawberry.

"Oh, nothing… Nothing at all," said Lily.

The room was quiet for a moment. Then Toadstine broke the silence.

"Well, we're proud to help Queen Lily. But now we must go to our homes," said Toadstine.

A few soldiers brought a container and put Tatanga's carcass in it. The blood spill was cleaned and slowly, troops started to leave the throne room and out the castle. The only people left to leave were Toadstine, Strawberry, and Peach. Before they left the door, Lily called to Strawberry.

"Strawberry, thank you very much for taking care of my daughter."

"It's no problem at all Lily. We will always help each other in these grim situations."

"Right."

As the remaining people left, Lily hugged her daughter closely indicating to Daisy that Lily missed her.

"It's been a very long day for the both of us," said Lily.

"Yes Mother, a very long day. What was Tatanga going to do to you?" asked Daisy.

"Oh, it's too tough to explain, but since Tatanga is dead, I'll clarify. But please don't take this so hard. Tatanga captured me so that he can wed me."

"What!? Oh my goodness! Is this true?"

"Yes it is. But don't worry my daughter. That will never happen."

"If he captured you once, then why did he bother coming back here?"

Lily hesitated to answer that question. Daisy would freak out just like Lily if she knew. But she did eventually talk.

"He said that he would capture you and kill you."

Daisy gasped.

"Don't worry. That won't happen either. We are both safe," Lily said quietly and optimistically.

Lily remembered about the dress again. She felt so much guilt because her daughter was much more important and Lily did not think like that earlier.

"Daisy, I'm sorry."

"For what Mother?"

"Oh… never mind."

Lily hugged her daughter once more and forgot about the entire situation she was stuck in earlier.

It took two hours to get home from the Sarasa Kingdom for Strawberry and Peach. They were glad that Lily was finally safe and Daisy too. They arrived in the throne room with General Toadstine.

"Well, I'm glad that's all over. Tatanga has ruined the lives of many of the people of the Sarasa Kingdom. Now they will live on happily with their lives," said Strawberry.

"Yes," said Peach, "Especially Aunt Lily and Daisy."

"Well General Toadstine, you've done an excellent job. Congratulations," said Strawberry.

"Thank you, Your Highness. It's an honor," said Toadstine.

"I knew I can count on you. You have the best plans in all of the army. Now you may be dismissed."

"Thank you. Good night."

General Toadstine left the room and Toad came in.

"Your Highness, what happened? Is everyone okay?" said Toad in panicky tone.

"Don't worry Toad, everyone is okay and Lily is okay too," said Strawberry

"Wow, glad to hear it," Toad said in relief.

"Now we can relax too," said Peach, relived of the long day.


	5. The Young Vampire

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Princess Peach and the Starman (C) Nintendo.  
Queen Strawberry and the Baynes (C) me.

**The Young Vampire**

Peach woke up in the middle of the night. She was just not able to sleep for some reason. She tried many times to go back to sleep, but it did not work. She checked the clock, which read 11:23 P.M. She felt like she needed something. She realized that it was a thirst for something. Thinking it might be water, she got off her bed and proceeded downstairs quietly and carefully. She entered the kitchen to get a glass of water. The thirst did not change, so she took another glass. However, something strange happened. The water did not quench her thirst at all. In fact, the water seemed to make the thirst worse. If water was not the solution, then what was? These thirst problems happened every night lately. Peach did not know why, but she would look outside the castle for the solution to the problem because she could not find anything in the castle and she did not want to worry her mother about this problem.

So going to the secret passage in and out the castle, Peach wandered into the nearby town as she did the previous night. She strolled with stealth like a predator looking for prey. On the corner of a street, Peach found red residue stained on the wall. That mere color would make her thirst even worse. Peach looked down by the wall and next to it, she found the dead body of a man. The man looked very pale. Peach examined his right shoulder. There were two holes. It looked as if blood oozed out the body at a rapid pace. It suddenly struck her; the man must have been a victim to a vampire lurking nearby. Now she was anxious; what if she was next to be murdered by a vampire? She heard stories of vampires enjoying the blood of innocent children. The thought sent cold chills down her spine. However, Peach gazed at the remaining blood on the man's shoulders curiously. For some reason it made her want to touch the blood. Suddenly, Peach heard noises. It sounded like people running somewhere in the dark night. She hid herself in the depth of the street so that no one could notice her. Two men passed by, both with clubs. She knew them as the murderers of the Baynes.

The men seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere. Peach wanted to know if a vampire would actually kill them, so she followed them very carefully. The two men approached a large forest with pathways along the houses in the village. Peach accidentally stepped on a twig that lied on the ground. She immediately froze.

"Who's there?" said one of the men.

Peach could feel her heart beat faster. If they found her, she would be killed.

But after looking around for a few seconds, the men thought that it was probably a forest animal and continued walking. Peach continued following them along the pathways of the forest, being more cautious of every step she took. They did not seem to go deeper into forest, but along the houses at the edge if the forest. Then Peach suddenly stopped. She felt something coming, something dangerous. Her heart beat faster still. She could hear the rustling of leaves out of the pathway. She felt like she was being watched. Then near the men, Peach saw a shadow that looked like it was going to stalk on the men.

"AHHHHHH!" one of the men yelled.

"Oh no! Who's there?" said the other man fearfully.

In the dark, Peach could perfectly see what had just happened. One of the men was dragged into the depths of the forest by a vampire. Peach could tell that the person was defiantly a vampire. She knew that the man being dragged into the forest would be dead at any moment. Several seconds later, the dead body of the man was thrown into the pathway. When the other man saw his friend dead and pale, he freaked out. He almost yelled in fear, but he kept it in. Peach did not know if she was suppose to be afraid or be amused by his suffering because she did not like how he killed the vampires in a merciless, cruel way; but she also felt sorry for the victim of the vampire. The man surviving would probably be next. Finally, the vampire revealed himself. His face was scary in the dark. He was so pale and stiff, that Peach thought for a second that he was a ghost. She wondered why she could see the vampire's face so perfectly in the dark. But that did not matter right now. The vampire approached the man slowly. Some blood was rolling down his chin from his lips.

"Oh no! Not another damn vampire!" said the man.

"Mmmmm… Your friend was delicious. I think I'll have you for dessert," said the vampire in an accent of his kind.

Peach was scared. What if the vampire feasted on the man and still has enough room for her blood? That is only if the vampire noticed her.

"_Why did I have to come here in the first place? How stupid of me. And all of this was for an odd thirst. I just hope that the vampire won't notice me,"_ thought Peach.

But suddenly Peach heard noises and hisses. She saw the vampire attack the man. There was a deep scar on the man's face and fresh blood was dripping out. Peach stared at the red droplets rolling down his cheek in the moonlight. The vampire tried to attack again, but this time the man dodged and hit the vampire on the ribs. Peach heard the ribs cracking. The vampire hissed in pain. Then the man whacked the vampire several times. Dead on the pathway laid the vampire. His skull was damaged just like the Baynes from yesterday. The survivor of the vampire stood looking at the dead bodies in front of him. He was panting. Blood was continuing to drip from his cheek. Peach was staring at the blood in interest, as it rolled down his cheek like tears. There was something about it that wanted make her come closer to him. She suddenly felt two of her teeth unusually longer than usual.

"_That's weird. What's wrong with my teeth? This has never happened before,"_ Peach thought.

Continuing to stare at the blood of the man, Peach could not take it anymore. She walked towards the man. She could not stop. Obviously, the man noticed that a girl was walking towards him. But he did not treat her like a princess.

"Not more of you! When will your kind stop haunting us?" said the man to Peach.

"What do you mean, sir? I just want to see your chee–"

Wham! Peach was struck hard by the club. She screeched loudly in pain and fell to the ground. On the ground, she saw a blurry image of the man with blood on the club…

"Are you alright child?"

Peach woke up and found herself in a small house. She felt cloth wrapped around her forehead, where she was hit by the club. She was on a bed and standing by the bed was a woman who looked scary in the dark. Her mouth was slightly open and Peach noticed fangs. She looked as if she were going to approach her. Peach panicked when she realized that the woman was a vampire. Peach screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Somebody help me!! There is a vampire here an–"

But her mouth was covered by the vampress.

"Shhhh… You do not want anyone to hear us child. Your pain will end soon."

She moves her hand off Peach's mouth so that she can have some air. Peach was panting. She thought that she might be dead soon, but tried to convince the vampress not to kill her.

"Please don't drink my blood! I am only a child! I am too young to die! I beg of you, please!" Peach whispered in fear.

"How cute… Children sound cute when they beg for mercy."

Peach cowered in fear. She thought that this would be her end.

"_I'm sorry Mother, for sneaking off like this, risking my life. I didn't know it was going to end up like this,"_ Peach thought.

The vampress looked at Peach curiously.

"Why are you hiding from me child? Are you afraid?" She mischievously giggled. "You don't have to worry child. I won't hurt you."

Peach was surprised by what she heard. This vampress right besides her was going to spare her life. But that does not mean the vampress could be trusted. Or could she? Peach stopped cowering and looked at the vampress's eyes bravely. She had to be certain of what her fate would be.

"So you're going to spare me, just as you say? Aren't you going to kill me?" Peach asked.

"Nope," The vampress giggled again.

"But why?"

"Oh, so you want to die?"

"I didn't mean that!" Peach said hastily, "It's just that… it's odd. Why would a vampire spare someone at night? If you tell the truth, then I'm considered a very lucky person right now."

"Indeed you are."

"So then why have you spared me?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Peach was a little more relaxed now, but just a little.

"Pardon me madam, where am I? And what happened to that man with the club?"

"You ask too many questions, child. Here, have this. It will make you feel better."

The vampress passed a glass to Peach to drink. Peach looked into the glass and saw red liquid. What was this substance? Some sort of juice? There was a pleasant aroma to this liquid. The redness of it craved Peach to drink it. She gulped down the liquid dramatically. The thirsty sensation that Peach had been feeling for the last few nights had completely vanished. Moreover, the taste of this liquid was extraordinary. She could not tell what this tasted like or compare it with anything she had ever drunk before.

"Mmmmm… Thank you, madam. Whatever you gave me to drink got rid of my thirst problems completely. That's so nice of you. And it was very yummy too. What was it?"

The vampress only needed to say one word.

"Blood."

Peach did not believe it. She drank blood! Now she felt terrible. Was it blood that she was thirsty for the entire time? No, it could not be. She could not imagine herself as a vampire. But then why was she so intrigued by the red color and why did she think that the blood tasted good?

"It's amazing, the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom is a cute little vampire," said the vampress, "That is very rare indeed. That is why I spared you. I wouldn't drink the blood of my own kind."

"Am I a vampire?"

"Yes child. Do not doubt what you are. Fate has chosen your kind and destiny."

"But _how_ am I a vampire?"

"I can't explain really that, dear child. I guess you were born as one, but the start of vampire activity starts at about your age."

"But if I'm a vampire, then wouldn't that mean that the members of my family are vampires too?"

"Not necessarily. We would know if they were. We only found you as a vampire."

Peach thought of why she stupidly walked up to the man when she knew she could be harmed. She finally realized.

"So that's why that man tried to kill me. Otherwise, he would have been in deep trouble for harming someone of the royal family. And now I know why I merely walked up to him. I wanted that blood; I wanted to drink his blood. And I had fangs too. And I also know why I keep on wandering in the village at night; it was in my instincts."

"You are wise for a child," the impressed vampiress replied.

Peach felt her fangs again. There was an odd feeling. She could scare people with these if she was threatened, but she felt guilty having them.

"Madam, I don't want these fangs. I want to remove them. I do not want to kill innocent people with these. Is there a way I can rid of these?"

"That can't happen."

"Why not?"

"If you remove them, you'll die."

"What!? Oh why me?" Peach moaned miserably.

"And don't call those humans innocent. Remember that one of them attacked you."

The vampress had a point. Peach was always protected and safe, until now. Now she felt she was sort of on her own.

"Oh, if you wanted to know about the fate of the insolent fool who attacked you, I took care of him for you."

Peach did not need to know any more. The glass of blood was probably from him. She was not surprised, yet it felt odd to her for some reason.

Suddenly in the place where she was bruised, the pain faded away dramatically.

"My forehead feels a lot better now," Peach said in a slightly startled tone.

"That quickly? Let me check."

The vampress removed the cloth off Peach's forehead. She suddenly gasped in amazement.

"What happened?" Peach asked.

"Where there was a bloody mark on your forehead, there is no wounds whatsoever."

"What!? But how can I heel that fast?"

"You are gifted child. First of all, you are a rare vampire in a royal position. Secondly, you are a rare vampire to possess regeneration."

"Regeneration?"

"It's the power to recover damaged parts of the body very quickly. People with regeneration are usually unstoppable."

"Really? To what extent?"

"I honestly have no clue. It's been many decades since this kind of vampire had existed."

"Interesting… So now I can safely go back to my home without my mother noticing that I was bruised?"

"Exactly."

Peach shrugged, in both relief and worriment.

"What do I do now? Do I tell my mother the truth?"

"No, don't, dear. The Queen does not know about our existence as vampires. She does not have to know the true. And you will not have to do anything to her because she is your mother and you love her. Isn't that right?"

"Yes. Very true indeed."

"The Queen is one of the very few good humans out there, but most others are not. They treat other people bad and even those of their own kind. They greed for things they want and once they have it, they want more. And notice how that man who attacked you did not treat you like the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, but like an animal. That's how humans are like."

Peach kept those words well in her mind. She learned a lot from this experience.

"Thank you for all the things you've done tonight. However, I must leave soon, or else people will be suspicious."

"Yes child, you must go now. And don't forget your destiny."

"Okay, I won't. Thank you."

Peach was about to leave the room but the vampress called.

"By the way, you're welcome."

Peach smiled, she made friends with a brave woman. She wondered what her name was.

"Oh, how clumsy of me! I forgot to ask for your name."

"You won't have to know that child. You might never meet me again. Who knows? I might be brutally murdered by men like the one that tried to kill you."

"Don't say that madam! You'll be okay."

"Thank you. You are a nice girl. Even if you were human, I would spare you."

They both chuckled and Peach left. Now she had to journey back home in hopes that no one would find her.

Peach went to bed again. She saw the sun rising. She was both happy and worried. Sure, the thirst problem was over but what if her mother knew that her daughter was a bloodthirsty vampire? She tried to forget such thoughts and went to sleep.

Peach opened her eyes and checked the clock, which read 9:32 A.M. She woke up and went to the balcony to see the beautiful sky of the kingdom.

"The sky is so beautiful and clear today," said Peach to herself.

There were there were a few clouds and the sun was shining brightly in the morning sky. It was then when Peach saw a star. The star flew closer to her. She held the shining relic-like object in her hands. The Starman would always remind her of peace and prosperity in a happy world. However, she knew after what happened last night that she did not live in a world that was pleasant.

"I'm sorry Starman. Last night I have found out that for the rest of my life I will have to murder people to satisfy my thirst for blood. I hope you forgive me. I hope the stars will continue to watch me and protect me."

Peach released of the star and allowed it to fly back to the sky where its home was with the other stars. Peach went to the throne room to see her mother. Strawberry was worried about her again.

"Good morning Mother."

"Good morning dear. Are you okay? You look worried about something."

Peach tried her best to hide her worried face.

"I'm fine Mother and I'm not worried about anything."

Peach looked at her mother. There was a new feeling being around her. Her mother did not know that Peach was a vampire. Strawberry would probably be afraid of her own daughter if she knew. Wait… What if her mother was also a vampire and did not tell Peach because her mother was afraid that it would scare her? However, Peach remembered what the vampress told her last night about how the vampire race only thought of her as a vampire, not her mother. So her mother was human. And humans are bad. No, not her mother. She is a good loveable person. She is not like other humans. Peach became relaxed by the thought. There should be more people like her mother.


	6. Midnight Snack

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach (C) Nintendo.  
Strawberry (C) me.

**Midnight Snack**

It was a week later since Princess Peach discovered that she was a vampire. She woke up in the middle of the night. After the night of drinking that glass of blood, there was no thirst to disturb her sleep. But now the thirst was back and she knew what to do. She hoped that she would be safe through the night, since she should probably know how to 'hunt' for a victim. She left the castle and traveled back to the village.

She was experienced in sneaking around the houses. She felt this would be one of her advantages. Also, she knew that since she was a vampire, she could see in the dark night better than other people could. That explained why she could see the events happening in the dark so perfectly last week. She could hear the rustling of each leaf and the mere footstep on the ground. She could even smell the crisp air drifting b, waving her hair.

"I can't go against a group of people. I'll have to find someone who's alone," Peach said quietly to herself.

Peach heard footsteps and hid herself in the shadows of the streets. Three men passed by. They all had pistols.

"_Oh great! How am I supposed to go against a guy with a gun? And to make things worse, there are three guys with guns. No,… don't give up now. You can do this!"_ thought Peach.

The three men went into a shack. The shack was rusty and abandoned. Peach followed them. She watched them through one of the dirty windows on the shack's side. One of the men spoke.

"Okay, for some reason, there were no vampires out there today," he said.

"That's fine. Maybe we killed them all from this village," said a second man.

"But remember that two of our men died last week. There might be more of those vampires here."

"I'm not hunting them wild animals today. I'm too sleepy," said the second man.

Peach was very offended by what the second man said.

"Yeah," said the first man, "We should go home."

The three men got up to leave. Two of them took the front door while the remaining one exited through the back door. This was Peach's opportunity to strike.

"_Hmmm… I'll attack the man going through the back door. But I'll have to be quick, or I'll be shot,"_ thought Peach.

She looked towards the back exit in the bushes. The person standing there was recognized as the second man who called the vampire race 'wild animals'. This was perfect. She would kill him for blood and for revenge. She never had such thoughts in her mind before. The man was standing looking at the dark sky. There were stars out tonight and the moon shined its light on the back exit like a spotlight. The man then walked along the bushes. This made it easier for Peach to stalk on him. Peach can feel her fangs ready to sink into the flesh of the man and drink the quenching red substance with in him. She looked like she was prepared to pounce on him. Once the man was right on the side of Peach, she grabbed his waist and dragged him into the forest. She did not know her own strength! She was impressed with herself that she was able to drag a grown man. She put him on the ground and she was on top of him, keeping him on the ground.

"Who the hell are you?"

Peach knew that he could not see in the dark. However, with a little light the man recognized her. He suddenly acted formal.

"Princess Peach? What are you doing here? And what are you doing?"

But he did not need an answer. He saw fangs. He did not need to know more.

"What the devil! You're a vampire too!? But that could only mean one thing. The Queen–"

"My mother isn't a vampire. Poor her. She doesn't know that I am," interrupted Peach.

"Why you little brat! I'll kill you!"

The man tried to pull out his pistol from his pocket, but it was not there.

"Damn! Where is that gun!?"

"Are you looking for this?"

Peach had the gun in her hand, but she threw it to a nearby stream by the bushes. Now the man was really worried. He underestimated Peach. He tried to brake free, but Peach was holding him on the ground with strength she never knew she had.

"Get off of me! When I get out of this, I'll tell the other guys that you should die because you aren't human!"

With his ranting, Peach covered his mouth. Only muffled sounds could be heard from him now.

"You talk too much. I'm just thirsty. I want some of your blood. Is that too much of a favor to ask for?"

Peach could not believe what she was saying. It was as if she was being controlled by a dark force, but she knew that she was really saying all of this. Peach could not resist anymore. She looked at the place between the man's neck and left shoulder and sank her teeth there. Her fangs cut deep into his flesh. Then she started to drain his body of blood. She could feel the warm succulent liquid soothing her throat when she swallowed gulps full of it. The man was screaming to death for a few seconds. Nevertheless, it gradually faded away once more of his life was taken. The taste of the blood of this person was slightly different from what she drank a week ago. It tasted sweet, with a little tart. She let the blood tickle her tongue to savor the taste. Once she was satisfied, she removed her fangs from her victim. Blood was flowing from her lips to her chin, dripping on the man's face. She licked the blood around her lips. Peach had turned into a bloodthirsty monster, and she is only ten.

She had an odd feeling that she was being watched. She had this feeling for a while. After thinking over it though, she felt confident that no one was watching her.

Peach felt a little guilty of what she had done. She would be in deep trouble if her mother found out. But she felt a little confident after thinking it over. Actually, she was proud. It was the first time she successfully hunted her first victim. She looked at the man once more. He was very pale. Peach felt a little sorry for him.

"Mmmmm… Your blood was tasty. I hope you rest in peace, mister. It was unfortunate that you had to die tonight. I'm sorry for taking your life away," said Peach quietly.

Peach used the man's shirt to wipe the excess blood off her chin. Then she got up and proceeded out of the village. However, before she heard more footsteps. In panic, Peach threw the dead body of her prey out of the bushes and into the dirt path of the back exit of the shack.

"The screaming came from over there," a voice called out loud.

Peach hid herself into the bushes and found that the two men coming were the first man and third man who were in the shack earlier. They probably noticed that the second man was screaming to his death.

"What the devil!" exclaimed the first man. He pointed at the second man's dead body. "He's dead! He was probably attacked by a bloody vampire when we were leaving. Just look how pale he is!"

"That means that imbecile is near by. But where?" said the third man.

"I suggest that we check the bushes."

Peach had to do something now. She had to either run or attack the men. She decided to leave them tonight since she was very sleepy and tired. Peach heard yelling from what seemed to be from the other side from the small village.

"What was that?" asked the first man.

"I don't know. Maybe the vampire snuck to the other side of the village."

The two men left the vicinity going for the north side of the village. That was good. Peach would always enter and exit the village from the west side. She crept through the bushes and out the village where she proceeded home.

"Oh my goodness. Peach, come take a look at this."

It was the next day, after breakfast. Peach guessed that her mother was reading an article about the murder of a man, who Peach knew as her victim from last night. She hoped that she was not mentioned in the article.

"It says that a man was murdered near the bushes behind a shack in the village east of us. At the moment, the name of the man is unknown, but he is pale in his condition. And here is the creepiest part; it says that most of the blood in the man was gone. What kind of cruel heartless murderer would drain the blood of his targets?" said Strawberry in a worried tone.

Peach felt that her mother indirectly called her 'cruel heartless murderer'. But she did not blame her at all. Peach knew that her mother would not be suspicious of Peach doing such a thing. But Peach could not contain herself. At this rate, from time to time there will be murders like the one from last night caused by Peach. Peach knew that the stars were disappointed at her, but she already confessed to one of them. She did not know any other way to get forgiveness from them. She had to continue her ways or else she will die from the lack of human blood. But for how long? With murders like the one from yesterday, Strawberry would be very suspicious of her daughter. Peach had to hide now or forever be in misery. But she did not want to be miserable.

"Don't worry Peach," said Strawberry, "Since these murders have been happening at the village, I've plan to send special troops to patrol the village at night, well not all night. They need their sleep too. It will start tonight."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," said Peach.

She did not mean that at all.

"_Oh great… How am I supposed to find targets without being seen by people watching the village who are hired by my mother? I'll have to observe _when_ the night guards go to sleep,"_ thought Peach.

"There had been many deaths in that village lately. With these night guards, the people of that village will live in peace." said Strawberry excitedly.

"Yes," said Peach quietly, "Peace and quiet."


	7. Truly Unstoppable

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach Toadstool (C) Nintendo.  
Strawberry Toadstool and Heft Gron (C) me.

**Truly Unstoppable**

That night Peach woke up at around ten o'clock. She did not wake up to stalk for victims, but to observe the night guards her mother hired to patrol the village. Peach had to know when they would actually sleep because her mother said that they would not patrol all night. Peach got up quietly as usual and proceeded to the village via the secret passage in and out the castle.

Once she arrived at the village, she immediately went into the bushes bordering the village from the forest. Peach saw nobody on the streets of the village except for the night guards. Any of them she saw were armed with a pistol and riffle.

"This isn't good. They are better armed than the men I was eavesdropping on last night. I'll be in huge trouble if I'm caught by them. And there are more of them then I predicted," thought Peach.

She looked around to check if anyone else but guards were nearby. She found no one. She looked into the forest. No one was there either, not even a vampire. It was as if the vampires and vampire hunters were hiding from the guards. So all she had to do now was to wait… and wait… and wait…

It felt like so long that Peach almost fell to sleep. She had to know the time. There was a house near the bushes with the windows open. Through the window, Peach could see a clock on the wall. It was so clear. It was as if she had super-vision. The clock read about quarter to midnight. Peach noticed that the guards were gathering in a large building until the streets were empty. She presumed that building was where the guards slept for the night. Several seconds later, the door into the building was closed and the lights were off. Peach knew that they were asleep, so she got out of the bushes and went into the streets. So since the guards sleep at about 11:45, then Peach should enter the village a little after midnight when she whenever necessary.

Suddenly, Peach heard a faint yell that would not be heard by a regular person. She felt deep in her heart that someone, a friend, was in trouble. It was a sense that someone had just died. The first thing she thought was of the vampress who helped her about a week ago. Peach had to know if she was all right. She remembered the vampress's house and went there with stealth. Just like Peach's castle, there was a secret passage that led in and out the house. Peach entered it from there. Once she entered, she saw the entire place in a big mess, as if somebody bombarded the house. She proceeded in the bedroom and entered into a scene that would change her life forever.

Dead on the bed was the vampress. Her right arm was ripped off and found across the room. Her chest was seeping blood out, as if she was shot many times. Part of her beautiful hair was pulled out, right off the scalp. In addition, knives were sticking out her abdomen. The scene was gruesome. Who could have done such a cruel thing? Only someone as disgusting as a human could have possibly done this, Peach thought. Tears were rolling down her cheek. This was too cruel. Did humans hate vampires this much? It was just too much to take. She let her head kneel on the dead vampress's shoulders and let out all of her tears. Slowly and gradually, Peach's tears turned into anger and hatred.

"I swear that I'll have your revenge. Those fools who killed you will pay. I'll find them. I'll surly find them," said Peach quietly, but angrily.

"Ha! Poor fool," said a man's voice.

Peach turned around to see where the voice came from. At the entrance to the bedroom, she saw four men. She never met any of them before. They were all muscular, but not too muscular. They were standing side by side looking at Peach. The man standing at the right was holding a gun. The man at the left was holding a sword. The two guys in the center were holding knives. The guy on the right looked like the ringleader. Peach hid her tears.

"Who are you guys?" asked Peach innocently, hiding her anger. She presumed that these were the men who killed the vampress.

"You don't have to know that you puny little brat!" said the man at the right.

"Little brat? Do you know who you're talking to?" said Peach with a little attitude in her voice.

"Yes we do," said a second man, "You're our wovewy wittle Princess Peachy."

Peach did not like how he was talking in a babyish tone. It annoyed her.

"We'll get to the point," said the first man, "We are going to kill you."

Peach could not believe it. How could ordinary citizens want to kill her? Unless they knew that she was a vampire. Now she was afraid.

"Why would you want to kill me? I am the Princess. It's a terrible crime to kill someone from the Royal Family," Peach said wisely.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's so unfortunate that you're a filthy vampire," said the first man.

"A vampire? I didn't know that vampires even existed," Peach lied, keeping an innocent tone in her voice.

"Well then why are you crying for that woman's death?" said the third man, pointing at the dead vampress.

"What? Are you guys insane? Wouldn't you feel sorry for an innocent woman who has been brutally murdered?"

"Not if she's a vampire," said the fourth man.

"But vampires don't exist! You guys are crazy!" said Peach. She hoped that they would recognize her as an ordinary little girl and not a vampire.

"Okay," said the first man, "If neither that woman nor you are vampresses, then why are you here at the dead of night? You should be asleep like a good girl."

Peach never thought of that. She stared at the first man with a sense of defeat. There was no way she could convince them now.

"Come with us Princess," said the second man.

The fourth man came and held Peach by the collar. She was never treated in such a way, ever.

"Put me down!" yelled Peach.

The men left the bedroom and the house and took Peach with them to the shack where she was spying on her first victim last night. Then when they entered, the fourth man threw Peach to a couch. She was never treated so cruelly in her entire life, not even when was punished for doing something bad. There was a ferocious sensation that almost made her growl at the fourth man, but she had to keep her temper down to act like the innocent child everyone in the kingdom knew her as before.

"All right," said the first man, "Let's talk like ladies and gentlemen."

"What do you want from me?! Leave me alone!" cried Peach, ignoring the first man's previous comment.

"Awww… Isn't that cute? Our little Princess Peach is trying her best to hide from us her true self," said the second man.

Peach had tears in her eyes. Did any of these men feel sorry for her? The anger and despair continued to build up within her.

"It's weird. Princess Peach is a little leach. Hey, that rhymed! But anyway, give up. We know the truth!"

"What truth?" said Peach. There was a little anger in her tone.

"That you're a vampire girl. We've been saying that the entire time," said the fourth man.

"Wait guys, if Peach-leach is a vampire, then wouldn't that mean that her mother, our lovely respected Queen, would be one too?" said the third man.

"My Mom isn't a vampire! Don't you dare call her that! She is a very sweet humane being and she will always be! She's also a very good mother. Oh, and by the way, I do confess that I'm a vampire."

"It's so pitiful. You have finally admitted that you are one of those disgusting people when we knew it the whole time," said the first man.

"How in the world did you know that I was one? That can't be possible!"

"Easy," said the third man, "One day, I think it was about a week ago, the four of us found you sneaking out in this village at midnight. Now that's weird. What was our Princess doing here at a time like this? We just followed you everywhere you went. But we presumed that you watched the murders of the Baynes, which was why you left.

"Then a week later, we sent one of our men to spy on you. He came back with pretty interesting observations. He said that you snuck into the village to look for someone to kill. He said that you were spying at three of our men discussing in our hide out, which is this shack. After they left the building, you attacked one of them and drank his blood. And you left, afraid of being caught."

Peach did not interrupt the third man from saying what he had to say, and when he was finished, Peach was awestruck.

"You spied on me? Then you send one of your men to spy on me a week afterward? How persistent are you humans?"

The men were silent by what Peach said. They did not expect her so say something so extreme. They presumed that she was angry, but they were not afraid.

"I want to see this 'spy', who was looking at me feast on one of your men."

The men noticed that Peach did not look so afraid. But they continued.

"Guys, let's show her," said the first man.

In the room, a fifth man entered. Peach presumed that he was the spy.

"Hello Princess Peach," said the fifth man coolly.

Peach stared at him with disgust. How dare he spy on her. It was none of his business of what she did.

"To tell you the truth guys, our sweet Princess looks cuter as a bloodthirsty murderer. It matches her better, after what I saw," the fifth man said proudly.

"Oh by the way," said the third man, "We don't care what you say about your mother, we think that she's a vampire too."

"NO SHE ISN'T! How many times do I have to tell you that!?" snarled Peach.

"Don't worry 'Princess'. Once we're finished with you, we'll kill you precious mom and you can meet her in hell."

Peach was scared. She did not want her mother to die from these cruel people.

"I think it's time for you to die now," said the first man looking at Peach.

Peach was very afraid. How will these people kill her? She did not know what to do. She trembled in fear. The guys did not seem to care if she was afraid.

Peach was about to beg for mercy, but the fourth man suddenly took his sword and stabbed Peach in the gut. She let out a horrible hiss that would not be expected to be heard by a child. She looked at the sword digging deeper in her stomach. She could see fresh blood leave her body and leak off her belly and along her dress and to the floor. Was she going to die? She was, but she did not want that to happen. Peach had flashbacks of her vampire friend talking to her while being treated for a burse on her forehead. The vampress was so helpful. Then there came images of her dead, almost hairless, armless and bloody. The murderers of that vampress will not get away with this. They will not! Nor will they kill her mother! Peach could not imagine her mother being murdered like how the vampress was.

So much anger and tension was building up in her that she started to glow a white color. The men were startled and stepped back. To their eyes, the sword that was jabbed into her gut vaporized from the intense energy being given off. It became so bright that the entire room became blinded with light. Peach did not know what was happening. For some reason, she did not feel that death was coming. She saw everything in the shack vanish in thin air.

Once the blinding light started to disappear and Peach found that she was alone in the shack. There was no one. In fact, nothing was left in the house. No couches, chairs, tables, lambs… nothing. Only the ceiling, floor, walls, doors, and windows remained. Peach looked at the deep wound that cut deep in her abdomen. Only the blood that spilled out was there. The deep, fleshy wound itself was gone. There was no cut, just bare skin. It did not make any sense to her for a moment. But then she remembered what the vampress said about her having regeneration.

_It's the power to recover damaged parts of the body very quickly. People with regeneration are usually unstoppable._

Now it made sense to her what regeneration was. She did not understand it enough back then. It meant that one could heal quickly from wounds, no matter how big they were. It was amazing. She was extremely lucky to survive that. Therefore, swords cannot kill her. Then what can? There was no doubt that Peach was truly unstoppable.

"Thank you, great Stars, for continuing to watch me and protect me. Bless you all," said Peach softly.

Peach heard footsteps of many people all a sudden. The sounds seemed to come closer. Peach left the shack through the back door and went into the bushes to rest her tired body. She saw men come in and out of the shack trying to find out that just happened. Peach recognized the men as the night guards. They probably noticed a flash of light and screaming in the shack that they woke up and investigated. When Peach felt a little better, she got up to leave the village.

Peach looked at her dress once she was back in her room. It had a hole in the place where her tummy would be. Blood was stained on it. If anyone saw her wearing the dress like this, there would definitely be a problem. She got rid of the dress and went to her closet to get a spare one to wear. No one would ever know what happened. It would be as if nothing happened last night.

Now Peach sat on her bed thinking about the flash of light. She was so tense in the situation that she could not have time to think about the flash. Where did it come from? She did not see any Starman so the flash could not have come from them. However, when the flash was taking place, she saw herself glow. That meant that she caused the flash. But how? That was a lot of energy being exerted thought Peach. Now she realized where the men who were killing her went. They were all vaporized by the blinding light. She killed them all with this new energy. What kind of special power was that? Peach remembered how angry she was before the flash. Could that be the cause?

If she could do these powerful attacks, then why did she not know this earlier? Maybe Peach was in the developing stages of using such techniques. She would probably have the ability to do different kinds of attacks once she became older. Now she could protect herself. No one could harm her now, even if she was stabbed by a sword or knife. There is no explanation for how she got these powers, but she just had them. It was like a gift. A gift from the Stars. Peach thanked them again.

She became curious of her new power and wanted to know more about it. So she went into the courtyard because she did not want anything indoors to be ruined. Once she arrived, she stood in the center of it. She wanted to focus her energy into a ball of light that she can toss. She made the presumption that she was able to do that since she was able to something so much more intense earlier. Of course, she would not toss it now; that would ruin the courtyard. She closed her eyes. Focusing, she held her right palm and focused her spirit energy on her right hand. Nothing happened, so she tried again. After several tries, her hand glowed in a baby-blue color. Above the palm, a small ball of energy appeared. It grew to be about an inch in diameter. It was shiny and pretty. Peach never knew she could do such a technique.

Peach wanted to know what it could do, but she would have to toss it to find out, so she went to the fields that were somewhat close to the castle yet distant enough to prevent any significant noise to be heard. She found a perfect target: a boulder that would not affect the community or scenery if it blew up or not. She took the ball of energy she just created and threw it at the boulder. The boulder blew up into smaller rocks as if she threw a bomb at it. Good thing this boulder was far enough from the castle so that nothing could be heard. Peach was so happy of her powers that she laughed a cute little giggle of satisfaction.

"Send Commander Heft Gron in."

It was the next morning. Strawberry wanted a full report on how the night guards were doing last night. She wanted the head of the night guards, Commander Heft Gron, to say to her if the night ran smoothly or if there was chaos in the village again. Unlike General Toadstine, who was a Toadish, Gron was a human. He came into the throne room, bowed at Strawberry and Peach, and then faced Strawberry. He looked quite nervous. Peach did not blame him. Last night she saw the night guards investigate the shack that was obliterated on the inside.

"So Commander Gron, did everything go well last night?" asked Strawberry happily, expecting a positive answer.

Gron hesitated to talk. By the nervous look on his face, Strawberry knew that something wrong happened and her smile faded.

"Well Your Highness, it is kind of hard to explain," Gron said hesitantly.

"Did something bad happen at the village?" asked Strawberry seriously.

"Yes."

"What?"

Peach never heard her mother talk in such a serious tone before. She would always talk so gently and happily, almost childish. But now her tone was hidden disappointment. It was calm but somewhat grim.

"Well last night we slept at our scheduled time. But then there was this screaming of a young girl and a horrible flash of light. The whole village probably awoke from that. We night patrol guards woke up and went towards the noise. Before we went to the actual source of the scream, there was a small house with the door open. We went in there and found the body of a dead woman. Her corpse was gruesome looking. But that wasn't the source of the sound so we continued to the source. There was a shack and there was nothing in it. It was as if a bomb blew up in the house and ate the interior of the shack entirely. We did not know where the girl's scream came from. The dead woman we found could not have made a noise like that. The scream was of a little girl," said Gron.

"So you are trying to say that a woman and a girl died? Weren't you and your men patrolling the village or were you doing something else?" said Strawberry.

"We were patrolling the village thoroughly. We would never disobey your command, Your Highness."

Peach liked how Gron was very loyal to her mother. That would make him one of the few good people in this secretly cruel world.

"Listen Commander… You know why I am very worried about the things that happen in that village. It is so close to the castle. If anyone of those murderers tried to come in here, I would never forgive myself, especially if they hurt my daughter," said Strawberry in a forgiving tone.

Peach understood that her mother was very worried about her and the castle. Then she realized that her mother did not have to worry. Peach stopped the murderers from killing her mother by letting her anger cause that flash that annihilated the men. Strawberry did not have to worry about Peach; Peach had to worry about Strawberry.

"I know you can do better, so I'll give you an extra chance Commander," said Strawberry calmly.

"Really!? After what happened last night?" said the surprised Commander.

"Sure. You are a very good commander. You cannot succeed everything you know. But please make sure that nothing bad happens in that village again, alright?"

"Yes, Your Highness," said Gron, sighing in relief.

"By the way, is it true that you are from that village?" asked Strawberry.

"That is correct, Your Highness."

"That's quite interesting, you would know your way around there then."

"Very true, Your Highness."

"Well then, you may be dismissed now Commander. You will meet me here tomorrow at the same time to report about what happens tonight."

"Thank you so much for your mercy, Your Highness. You're the most generous person I have ever met."

"You know for some reason, everyone seems to say that," said Strawberry, as if she did not realize that she was the nicest person in the kingdom. Of course, Peach knew that her mother was.

"Well it's true. With your reign of ruling this kingdom, you will bring all of us in an era of peace."

"Oh my gracious, that is sweet of you to say such a thing. I am not even sure if I will bring peace at last to this kingdom. There have been so many problems lately."

"I have confidence in you, the Princess has confidence in you, and everyone in this kingdom has confidence in you."

"Thank you dearly, kind gentleman," she said shyly.

Commander Gron left the room. Peach could not believe that he would say such nice comments like that to her mother. Moreover, he looked like he meant it. Just like that vampress said, not all humans were bad. She felt like doing something nice back. It was then when she remembered that when she was craving for blood, she would go kill people in the village because that was the closest place to the castle. She had to think of a way to make no one notice the people who would die sooner of later in her life.

"Come on Peach. We must go to the Temple for prayers. The graceful Stars are waiting for us," said Strawberry.

Once Peach heard that she was going for worship, she thought that she should pray to the Stars for an apology for killing people. However, once she came home, she doubted that the Stars would still forgive her.

Later in the afternoon, Peach was sitting in her room thinking about the temptation for blood. How would she hide the bodies of her victims without having anyone notice? An idea suddenly sprang out in her mind. In the hills that were very near the village, there was a secret cave where she could put the remains of her victims. She was the only one who knew about this cave because she got lost in the forest one tine when she was looking for the village. It was a short walking distance and completely hidden by tall forest trees that no one would walk into; it was perfect. Peach would drag the corpses of her victims and place them into the cave. Now a new problem rose from that; people would think that people are suddenly missing. She had to pick the right people to kill. People who either were going to move out of the village or people who were not known as well to the villagers. Peach just noticed how cunning and sly her mind was. With people being secretly murdered like this, no one will notice and Gron would tell her mother that nothing bad happened in the village. Now Peach did not have to worry, for the moment.


	8. The Empire of Monsters

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach, Bowser Koopa, Koopas, Goombas, Koopa Empire, Mushroom Kingdom, Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Toadsworth, and Toads (C) Nintendo.  
Strawberry, Toadstine, Toadscir, David Toadstool, Morton Koopa, Sir Artilmon, and the Dark Land Buffer Zone (C) me.

_Copyright notice: There is a difference between Morton Koopa and Morton Koopa, Jr. Morton Jr. is (C) Nintendo, and I presumed that he was named after someone, so I made up Morton, the father of Bowser, who name will also be Bowser's son, Morton Jr._

**The Empire of Monsters**

Up north of the Mushroom Kingdom, there was an empire of monsters. The ruler of the empire was sitting on his throne thinking… Thinking of a way to take down Strawberry's precious Mushroom Kingdom. His plans were interrupted by a surprise. A group of turtle-looking monsters and mushroom-looking monsters carried a giant cake with red icing to their ruler.

"Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!" yelled the crowd.

The ruler was so surprised that he almost jumped off his throne. He apparently forgot that it was his birthday.

"Oh how clumsy of me. I forgot that it was my birthday," said the King proudly.

However, before he could blow the candles, he was once again interrupted.

"King Bowser!" yelled a minion running towards him.

"What happened?" said Bowser.

"Remember when Queen Strawberry wanted to have peace talks with you? Well she just called and she wants to talk to you right away."

"Oh really? Does she think that it's easy to negotiate with me? We have been enemies for such a long time that I don't even remember when it started."

"You can take your time, Your Majesty," said the servant.

"Alright then… Koopas," –looking at the turtle-looking monsters– "and Goombas," –looking at the mushroom-looking monsters– "I thank all of you for the birthday surprise, but unfortunately there won't be time to celebrate my birthday. I, King Bowser Koopa, am going to have a 'peace-talk' with my nemesis, Queen Strawberry of that blasted kingdom I dream of taking over. I might get riled up all day."

Back in the Mushroom Kingdom's castle, Peach found out that her mother was going to try to negotiate with the King of the Koopas. Peach was taught that the Koopas were a horde of turtle-like monsters that were known for their dark magic. They were also known for doing horrible things to the Mushroomers. In addition, they had many minions, like the Goombas who betrayed the Mushroom Kingdom long ago to work for the Koopas. That is why Strawberry hated them so much.

Peach also remembered one time seeing a picture of the Koopa King while reading a book about the Koopa Empire. He had a large mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, sharp bullhorns on his head, scary red eyes, and a giant scaly body with a spiky turtle shell. She was so afraid of looking at it that she had a horrible nightmare about him the night afterward. She still feared seeing the face of Bowser, but she felt very safe in the castle, so she did not worry as much about it anymore. She even wondered if Bowser was afraid of vampires, but because of his gargantuan size and colossal power, probably not even a vampire would cause Bowser to fret.

Now after finding out that her mother was going to talk to him, Peach's fear returned. Peach went up to her mother to talk about the negotiations with Bowser.

"Mother, why are you trying to discuss with the Koopa King?" asked Peach worryingly, "If in any way he gets angry, he might attack us. I feel very afraid for us and our kingdom."

"I know how you feel, Peach," said Strawberry, "But I want our kingdom to be in peace. The Koopas have been our enemies probably ever since the beginning of time. They were always willing to attack us and take us over, but I want all of that to end. I only want peace between the Koopas and us. I must try to convince the Koopa King. They have done many terrible things to our people and us. I am tired of the suffering"

"What do you mean by 'us'?" asked Peach curiously, "They never came all the way to castle to get _us_, right?"

"Actually Peach, they have. I am sorry I have not told you this earlier. I was afraid that you would be so much in fear that you would wonder if they would ever come back down here. It happened long before you were born; when I was still Princess of this kingdom. At that time, the Koopas fought our troops so that they could take me hostage. And the Koopas easily defeated our troops and captured me."

Peach gasped. She never knew that her mother was taken hostage before.

"Yes Peach, it's true. Back then though the Koopa King was Bowser's Father, Morton Koopa. Bowser himself was very young and small at the time. They took me to their best room in the Koopa Fortress. It was an imitation of one of our bedrooms. For days, I had no other choice but to stay there, vulnerable. Morton would always check on me. He always smiled when he saw me in fear.

"Then one day I was just sitting on the bed, thinking of the day I would ever be out of that horrible place. Then I suddenly heard footsteps outside the castle. There was a different sound to it, so it was not a Koopa's footstep. It was a man, the man who I would eventually fall in love with, your beloved Father. David fought his way to the Fortress so that he can save me. I really appreciated it. Just when he was going to take me home, Morton found out that I was being rescued, so he sent troops to kill your Father. We snuck through the passageways until we made it to the main gate of the Fortress. The Koopa Troopas found us there. David fought long and hard for my life. I was afraid if he would get injured, or even worse. Though he was very hurt from the fight, he managed to defeat those troops. But then Morton came. I feared if David would last any longer. Morton gave him many injuries, bruises, and cuts, but your Father still had enough strength to say with pride:

'_You shall not hurt the Princess, King Morton!'_

"I admired his bravery. He refused to fall, and he did it for me. However, he was weak from the injuries. So I tossed a Super Mushroom to him. I keep that mushroom for myself, just in case I needed it. But David needed it more. So he caught it and ate it."

Peach knew that the Super Mushroom was a special mushroom grown in the Mushroom Kingdom that healed a person of injuries and gave him or her strength.

"When David ate the Mushroom, he was strong again. He even managed to hurt Morton severely. But no matter how much he took down Morton, Morton came back for more. It looked like your Father was going to lose, so I gave him something again, a Fire Flower."

Peach knew that the Fire Flower was a special flower grown in the northern regions of the Mushroom Kingdom that gave people the ability to produce and hurl fireballs from the palm of the hand.

"It was actually during the fight between Morton and your Father when I found out that I had a Fire Flower with me. I wondered how I had one with me, but it did not matter; I was lucky enough to have one. So I tossed it to him and he was shooting fireballs at Morton at full power. Even though Koopas are known for resisting immense heat, Morton suffered fatal wounds and burns.

"But Morton still came for more. David fired a charged fireball but Morton literally ate it. I was horrified. I was worried that he might kill your father. I could not imagine, even though that was the first time I met David, I could immediately tell that he was a man of pure heart. Then I saw Morton slashed him with his claws. He fell to the ground, bleeding badly. I did not have another Super Mushroom. I was crying and praying for David to be alive. I could not take it anymore. I went between Morton and David and desperately cried to Morton to stop hurting him. Apparently, I noticed that Morton did not want to hurt me, so he didn't proceed with finishing off David. I looked at your Father and I suddenly saw him get up. He looked at me as if saying 'thanks for stalling Morton'. Then he charged another fireball, but this time he used all the energy he had left into it. I stepped back and saw Morton die from being hit by the charged shot. At first, I thought Morton was going to get back up, but he stayed lying on the ground. He was dead. I cried in relief; finally, the terrible beast was defeated. I was grateful to David for saving me. He was still weak but still had life in him. I went up to him and said:

"'Thank you very much for saving my life, my Hero.'

"Then I kissed him on the cheek. I saw him blush. I guess he felt honored. Then he got up and took me home. From that day, we started to fall in love. He was honored as the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. That was the only time so far I was captured by the Koopas."

All the information Peach was told just now was completely new. She never knew that her mother was taken as hostage to the Koopas, nor did she know how her mother and father met. Now she knew. But now there was another question: Where was her father now? Ever since Peach was a very young girl, she wondered where her father was. When she asked her mother, she would hesitate to say anything; she even looked like she was going to cry, which is why Peach did not mind that her mother did not answer her. But she always wanted to know. And until now, she still did not know where her father was.

"Mother… I know I asked this question a lot, but where is Father? I never see him around here. What happened to him?"

Again, like before, Strawberry hesitated to answer Peach's question. Strawberry had hid the answer from Peach for a long time but now Strawberry felt that Peach was old enough to understand. Tears started to come down Strawberry's cheek. Peach could not understand why, but she would soon find out. Strawberry said it slowly.

"Peach… I never told you about this before, because I was afraid you would not understand. But now I think you're old enough to understand."

Strawberry sniffed, as if she was going to cry. Peach immediately inferred that what her mother was about to say something terribly depressing and sad.

"Peach… your Father was…"

More tears came out. Strawberry hesitated to finish the sentence, but eventually, she did.

"Your Father was killed."

This was when Strawberry held Peach in her arms and cried on her daughter's shoulder. Peach was shocked. She could not believe it. Her father was dead. But that explained why she never saw him. Peach allowed her tears out too. No wonder her mother hesitated to answer. Peach perfectly understood. It was sad to know that Peach had never seen her father before. After they stopped crying, Peach wanted to know how her father was killed. Tears still came, but they were calmer now.

"But how? How did Father die? I want to know," cried Peach.

Strawberry sighed sadly and sniffed.

"All right, dear, listen carefully. Here is what happened: It started when your Father and I were married for about three years. You were nearly two years old. Your Father and I took care of you and loved you very much. But then one morning when I woke up from our bed, I did not see him besides me. Instead, I saw a letter. The letter had the seal of the Koopa symbol on it. I suddenly became awake and read the letter. It said that the Koopas have captured David. I was horrified. I thought long of how this was possible, since Morton was dead. Then I remembered that Morton had a son by the name of Bowser. He must have ordered his minions to take your Father as a hostage. I did not know why at the moment. I prayed for the safety of David.

"Once I got dressed and got to the throne room, Toadsworth came to report that King David was taken hostage by the Koopas. I saw all the Royal Retainers in the room gasp in surprise, but I was already surprised. I told Toadsworth that I already knew because I got a letter from the Koopas saying so. Then I ordered Toadsworth to get Toadstine and send our troops to save David, just as David saved me. We were able to get our troops to the Koopa Fortress to fight the Koopas, but it was too late."

Strawberry sniffed and hesitated to continue on because it was gruesome, but she had to continue.

"When our troops made it to the throne room of the Fortress, they found David… beheaded."

Peach almost fainted, but instead, she gasped in horror. Who did these Koopas think they were? How dare they take her father away and in such a horrible way. Right now, Peach had a mix feeling; she was both angry and sad. Both Strawberry and Peach could not hold on to their tears anymore. Peach did not know that her mother had to live in such blood, sweat, and tears. It was no wonder the Koopas were hated.

"And ever since that time, I've raised you like a mother and a father. At first when I found out that David was dead, I felt that there was no reason for me to live any longer; I was so depressed. But because you had come into our lives, I did not lose all hope. I still have you to protect. I'll make sure those beasts don't even lay a claw on you."

There was a pause in the room. This was too much for Peach to take, but she wanted to know more.

"But why? Why did they have to take Father away?" cried Peach.

"That's what I wanted to know," said Strawberry, "Weeks after David's death, Prince Bowser told us that he ordered the execution of David because it was revenge for what David did to Morton. I felt so dim-witted, because it was obvious. After my wedding with David, the events of Morton capturing me and then David killing Morton felt like a long time ago, and I slowly forgot it. There was no other reason for Bowser to capture David. They could have captured me; the Koopas have this thing for taking females hostage; I can't really explain that well enough. Anyhow, I was surprised when I found out that David was captured. All this chaos was for revenge."

Peach had learned long ago that the Koopas were a horrible horde of monsters that ruined the lives of many Mushroomers. However, that is all she knew. She did not know what they could really do. Now she had a reason to hate them. And at the same time, she feared them more. What would happen if they wanted to come back to the castle and take either her or her mother? It would be horrible so she did not want to think about it.

There was another pause in the room. It was like a moment of silence to honor Peach's noble father. Several seconds later, Strawberry started talking again.

"All right Peach… I have to go to the negotiations with Bowser. I shall see you soon and return safely. Bye now," said Strawberry, waving at Peach.

"But wait! Where's this meeting?" asked Peach.

"It is in a building north of us. It was built a long time ago as a first attempt to negotiate with the Koopas. Now I'll try to consult with them."

"Good luck, Mother!" said Peach, hugging her mom.

"Thank you, dear," said Strawberry, kissing her daughter on the cheek, "I'll need every single bit of it."

Strawberry waved at Peach while leaving the room to go to the meeting. Peach waved back, slowly as if she was worried. And why should she not be? Her mother was going to be face-to-face with Bowser, the feared monster that caused the death of her father. She prayed for her mother's safety. If Peach could somehow use her special powers to defeat Bowser when he intended to attack her or her mother, then the kingdom would be in saved. However, Peach recently found out something about her powers: she had to be in a certain condition or mood to use them. Right now if Peach tried to charge an energy attack, it would not work. She inferred that she had to be angry or determined to use her powers, but she was not completely sure. Maybe she was just too young to use them properly. Therefore, it was no use for her to attempt to protect the kingdom if Bowser tried to invade. All she could do now was sit in her room and wait…

"Your plane is ready, Your Highness."

Strawberry was at her private landing strip, where she could access her plane and fly anywhere far away. It was bright outside, with the sun on the very top of the horizon. It was midday. Just now, the plane was parked on the end of the runway, and the stairs into the plane were set up so that Strawberry can enter the plane. The plane itself was a pink private cruiser with the symbol of the Mushroom Kingdom on its tail wing: the Super Mushroom. Strawberry felt confident that she could make it through the meeting alive, though she was slightly afraid. But she was not too afraid because with her, about twelve Toadish guards and eight human guards were coming with her. Also, four government officials were coming with her too; she will not consult with the Koopas alone.

Entering the plane, Strawberry seated herself on the monarch's seat. There were four other seats, two on each side of Strawberry's seat. The four government officials were sitting on the four seats. They were discussing about the meeting with the Koopas. Judging by the tense looks that were on their faces, Strawberry guessed that the officials were arguing about it; ranting about miscellaneous opinions and propaganda concerning the meeting. She did not mind though. The officials immediately silenced themselves when they saw Strawberry enter the royal sector of the plane. There was another sector in the plane, but that was for guest or guards. Strawberry looked at each of the officials then sighed.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," said the four officials.

"Good afternoon men. Are we ready to attempt to negotiate with the Koopa Tribe?" said Strawberry.

"Yes we are madam." said all four of them.

"We'll try our best," said the official seated on the very right of Strawberry.

"Good," said Strawberry.

Once everything for the ride was ready, a message came from a mini intercom on the ceiling of the room.

"Everybody please fasten your seatbelts," the intercom said.

The people in the royal sector and guest sector of the plane listened to the intercom message and fastened their seatbelts. Almost immediately afterward, the plane thrust itself and the plane was off to its destination.

The plane's destination was the Mushroom Kingdom's most northern region: the Dark Land Buffer Zone. This thick strip of land separated the Koopa Empire from the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom. The reason this place is called the Dark Land Buffer Zone is that the Mushroomer sometimes called the Koopa Empire "the Dark Lands". In the center region of the strip was the building where the Mushroomers first tried to negotiate with the Koopas. This first attempt happened along time ago. It only succeeded for a week. But now Strawberry was determined to bring peace to the Mushroom Kingdom for good.

Hours later Strawberry and the others arrived at the building. It was not just any building; it was a large brick castle. But it was not too big, so it was not considered a fortress. This castle was usually empty, but today it would be filled with Koopas, Toads, and humans. Strawberry was surrounded by security, which were the guards who came with her. This was just in case a Koopa tried to attack her. There were a lot of them looking at her. She looked back at them and gulped; she was nervous and frightened. Unlike Bowser, who was very big and spiky, a typical Koopa was much smaller and completely spike-less. Instead of razor sharp teeth that Bowser had, a regular Koopa had a short, but powerful beak. However, even with these differences, a regular Koopa could be dangerous, especially when angered. Slowly, the main gates into the castle opened. Before Strawberry and the others entered, she wished herself and the other good luck.

"Well men, here we are." shrugged Strawberry, "Please realize that these Koopa can be easily intimidated, so don't say anything against them, or else we will be doomed. Understand?"

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," the officials and guards said.

"Good… Well, I wish all of us the best of luck. I pray to the Stars that we find peace after this."

Once Strawberry was finish with what she had to say, she, the officials, and the guards entered the castle. Once they were walking in the wide, torch lit corridor, Strawberry became more nervous. It looked similar to the interior of the Koopa Fortress, but not entirely. It was dark and gloomy, but it did not have as much elements as the Koopa Fortress. Strawberry prayed that everything would be all right.

At the end of the hallway was a grand door that led into the main room in the castle. The meeting room was filled with conversation; both of Mushroomer and Koopa. On one side of the room was a framed picture of the Mushroom Kingdom's symbol: the Super Mushroom. On the other side of the room was the framed symbol of the Koopa Empire: the gruesome face of the Koopa King. In the room was a very long table. The longer sides of the table had about forty seats each. On the two shorter sides of the table were special seats. On the Koopa side, the chair looked like a Koopa-styled throne. On the Mushroomer side, the seat was a royal pink throne with soft cushioning. Strawberry felt very comfortable when she sat there. She took a deep breath and waited for Bowser to arrive and sit on his seat. The four officials that came with Strawberry sat at the four closest seats to her.

"Your Highness, where is King Bowser?" asked one of the officials.

"Well… I think he's a little late," replied Strawberry, "We'll just have to wait."

"Okay," he replied.

Not long after that, a chorus of royal Koopa horns was played. The main door opened again and big rumbling footsteps were heard. Strawberry despised those footsteps because she knew that Bowser was here. The Koopas cheered for Bowser's arrival. Strawberry noticed a banner on the Koopa side saying "Happy Birthday King Bowser Koopa!" with the Koopa symbol on it. She never knew that Bowser's birthday was on May 12. If this were the case, then Bowser would show more pride than usual.

After Bowser took a seat, a spokesman came and announced that the meeting started. The spokesman was a tall, brown-haired man in a fancy black suit worn above a red dress shirt. Obviously, he was from the Mushroomer side.

"Attention please! I would like to welcome everyone here, Koopa and Mushroomer alike! We have been called here to settle our disputes, which have been with us before we were born. We all wish for peace, correct? Then let us start this meeting with Queen Strawberry Toadstool's thoughts," said the announcer, turning his head towards Strawberry.

"Thank you, Sir Artilmon," said Strawberry to the announcer, "I was thinking about a making a treaty which states the solutions for all our disputes. At this moment, we will discuss about the topics that we should include in this peace treaty. Then King Bowser and I will sign it, indicating that we both have agreed in establishing this treaty. What do you think of this, Your Majesty?" said Strawberry to Bowser.

Unfortunately, for Bowser, he found Strawberry's suggesting a very good one. He did not expect that, so he had no other choice but to agree with it.

"I must say, that is a very good idea, Your Highness," said Bowser coolly, "I have no complaints about it."

"I'm very glad to hear that you like this idea," said Strawberry.

"But who's writing the treaty?" asked Bowser.

"Our fateful scribe will," replied Strawberry.

At that moment, an intelligent looking Toadish with a green mushroom cap came in and sat on one of the reserved seats. He had spectacles and was dressed green, unlike the usual red and blue of other Toadish. With him, he had three sheets of royal paper, an inkbottle, and a fancy feather pen. Of the three sheets he brought, two of them were meant to write draft versions of the peace treaty, and the one remaining sheet was meant to have the final treaty written neatly on it.

"Good day, Your Highness," greeted the scribe to Strawberry.

"Good day to you too, Toadscir," said Strawberry.

Toadscir was ready to write the ideas suggested by the two rulers.

"What issues do you want solved first?" said Bowser.

"First I would like to talk about the trespassing that has been happened lately," explained Strawberry, "Local civilians from my land reported Koopas crossing the borderline of our kingdoms and raiding local villages. I was indeed very disappointed when I heard this, but I heard that there was a lack on security in those areas.

"But according to the data provided by our Borderline Agency, we have also found out that a few of my people of the northern areas are crossing the borderline and secretly attacking Koopas. I find this wrong too because it might start more conflicts between the kingdoms. And thus I want our people to be banned from crossing the borderline and also your people too."

The Koopa King was thinking deeply about Strawberry's well-detailed statement.

"Hmmm… I guess putting trespassing restrictions will lower the amount of issues in local areas… I'll accept," said Bowser.

Once Toadscir heard that, he immediately wrote down the trespassing rule on the draft paper. Once he was done, Strawberry allowed Bowser to continue.

"I would like to continue by talking about our permanent borderline. It seems that your people will not have much use for the Dark Land Buffer Zone once we have succeeded in compromising. So I thought that my kingdom would probably find more use for this land than your kingdom," said Bowser.

Strawberry thought hard about this proposal. She agreed about the fact that she did not have much use for the land, but keeping the strip of land under her control would benefit her people, just incase the Koopas suddenly attacked them again without listening to the treaty. Ever since she was a child, Strawberry was taught that the Koopas were not worth trusting. That was why she had some doubts about changing the borderline, but she eventually accepted, hoping that would lower conflict further.

"Good idea," said Strawberry agreeably, "And you're right; I don't have much use for that land."

"Good," said Bowser proudly.

Toadscir wrote about the official borderline on the draft treaty.

After a long three hours of brainstorming factors and rules that would make up the peace treaty, the meeting was almost over. They have discussed about so many wide variety of topics from foreigner conduct to imperial resistance. Strawberry feared that an argument would rise in the meeting, but very surprisingly, it did not; though Bowser acted very egotistically. When the meeting was finally over, Strawberry and all of her subjects that came with her went back to their plane and flew off back to Starman Valley, where the Mushroom Kingdom's royal palace stood.

Peach looked very worried when Strawberry was back in the castle. Strawberry did not blame her.

"Mother, did the negotiations go well?" asked Peach worryingly.

"From what I've seen so far, I guess it went alright," replied Strawberry calmly.

"From that you've seen so far…?"

"Let's just say that the negotiation wasn't completely over yet. What happened was that Bowser and I were constructing a peace treaty, which our scribe, Toadscir was drafting. At this moment, Toadscir is to write the official version of the treaty. Once finished, it will be sent to Bowser and than to me for signing. If either one or both of us do not sign this treaty after thirty days, our negotiations with the Koopas considerably fails. Fortunately, no arguments erupted. And our subjects were safe through the whole thing. I just hope Bowser signs the treaty, because if he does, our people will live the peace for a long, long time."

"I hope he does too."

They both hugged each other in the bond of motherly and daughterly love. Inside both their minds were the thoughts of peace and prosperity in their kingdom for the rest of their lives; no Koopas would ever haunt them or their subjects again. After their embrace was over, Peach was a little curious about something.

"Mother, forgive me if you think I'm being doubtful, but what if the Koopa King doesn't sign the treaty? What will be of us and our kingdom?" asked Peach.

"Well… If Bowser does not sign it, then I guess I will have to try to negotiate with them again, but not very soon. We will have to pray that nothing happens to us and our people until that time," said Strawberry.

There was a short pause in the room, while mixed feeling flowed in the minds of the Queen and Princess, whom both wished a happy outcome of the negotiations.

"I pray to the Stars that the Koopa King signs the treaty," said Peach.

"Me too, dear," sighed Strawberry.


	9. The Ultramodern Nations

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

The Mushroom Kingdom, Mushroom City, and the Koopa Empire (C) Nintendo.  
Ross Thomas, Hans, Erick, Mike, Kent, Recyiden, Ladercia, Yetroid, the RYTA, the YRTA, Unce, Yetropolis, South Blixeron, Blixeron, Zetroid, Zint, the Blixeron Belt, the Yet, the Yetroidian language, the Zetroidian language, and the Gnylian lanugage (C) me.

The "Mushroom Queen" refers to Strawberry, who is also (C) to me.

_Notice: Some of the content in chapter are in Yetroidian and Zetroidian. And the Gnylian language is English._

**The Ultramodern Nations**

While the Treaty was being prepared, somewhere in a far, far away land, a group of five men lurked around in the streets of a mechanical city. Towers were everywhere in this gigantic techno metropolis. The five men looked in awe as vehicles without wheels hovered and flew like jets in slow-strips and express-strips. There were colorful lights of nightclubs everywhere and the music heard was a mix of a futuristic rock and techno. Though the men were amazed, they would be in even more awe when they crossed the borderline of this mechanized city into an even more ultramodern nation.

"This place is so beautiful…," said one of the five men.

"I know. This was a very good idea to tour around Yetroid, Ross," said another of the five men.

The one named Ross looked at the flying cars and gargantuan skyscrapers in amazement. He had brown hair spiked up in the front and he wore a black trench coat with black shades. His biggest dream was to tour the world beyond the Mushroom Kingdom, where the five men originated. They never knew that the lands outside the Mushroom World would be so different. He wanted to be honored as the one who was brave enough to travel to distant lands. He did not know why people did not want to travel outside the kingdom. He and most other Mushroomers were taught that it was not safe to wander too far into foreign lands. He wanted to prove that wrong.

So taking four of his friends, he embarked a long journey taking him through many different places and nations. The large region of the South Mushroom Kingdom took up most of the journey because it was a huge piece of land; it took many weeks to cross. Then they entered the foreign neighbors of Ladercia and Recyiden. These nations were south of the Mushroom Kingdom, unlike the Koopa Empire, which was north. Ladercia and Recyiden were very different from their home-nation.

Ladercia was a beautiful lakeside country with friendly people. Most of the nation was a lake and the Ladercian people looked as prosperous as the Mushroomers were. Going more south, they entered the nation of Recyiden. Ross did not know what the government was like in Recyiden, but the place was quite unique. The cities in Recyiden were bigger than even Mushroom City, the biggest city in the Mushroom Kingdom. The technology in Recyiden was amazing. There were very convenient gadgets and advance methods that the Mushroom Kingdom would probably never obtain for the next several decades. Ross and the gang even heard that the doctors in Recyiden used sound as medicine! This was too amazing for them to hear.

Nevertheless, it would be even more amazing for them when they went to Yetroid, which is said to be one of the most advance nations in the galaxy. Ross wondered why many of the nations of Planet Mushroom were not equally as advanced as nations like Recyiden and Yetroid.

Ross was told by a Recyidenese person that to go to Yetroid, he would have to reach the Recyidenese capital, Unse. Once in Unse, he would have to go to the Recyidenese-Yetroidian Transnational Airport, or RYTA for short. This airport flew planes only from Unse, Recyiden to Yetropolis; the capital of Yetroid. Ross was told that it was very dangerous for planes to fly across any nations because they were shot down by aggressive nations. Ross wanted to know a little more about these 'aggressive nations', but not much was known for now.

Once Ross and his friends bought flight tickets, they went into a large commercial plane that was to go to the Yetroidian-Recyidenese Transnational Airport, or YRTA, which was in Yetropolis. It took eight long hours to get from RYTA to YRTA! Leaving the airport, Ross and the others explored the wonder and depth of the megalopolis.

Yetropolis was not like anything they had ever seen before. Standing taller than the clouds, the skyscrapers colored the skyline with beautiful city lights. Highways were very wide and yet traffic filled every lane. The streets were packed with people of all sorts. The five Mushroomers felt as if they went into a time portal into the future, but when Ross read a Yetroidian newspaper called _The Gnylian-Yetropolis Tribute_, the date explicitly said May 14 1984.

The cars in Yetroid were very alien to then: they had no wheels! They hovered about a foot in the air and were attached to the magnetic roads of the city. Fortunately, for them though, the cars had the basic controls of the ones back home in the Mushroom Kingdom. Except the Yetroidian cars had better cruse control, ran on non-polluting, long-lasting hydrogen fuel cells, had a full-operational navigation systems, better climate controls, and even satellite television and satellite radio! The men enjoyed driving around the city in a luxurious model _LXQ850_ that they rented that went in speeds of about ninety miles per hour; and that was only the average speed of most Yetroidian vehicles!

They were very lost for a while, but they found a place where tourists could find out about the attractions in Yetroid. They obtained two maps: one of Yetropolis and another of the whole nation. They decided to tour Yetropolis for the day and find a place to sleep for the night. Having enjoyed the day and even forgetting for a while that they were Mushroomers, the guys relax in a motel that was more like a hotel to them.

Next morning the guys planned where to go next in Yetroid. There were many wonderful places according to the maps they had, but they found their interest in a city called South Blixeron. They did not see a 'North Blixeron' on the Yetroidian map, so they wondered why their new destination was called South Blixeron. South Blixeron was said to be the high-tech capital of Yetroid.

The morning the men got up to get ready to go South Blixeron, Ross was writing in his journal about the things he did in his travels through Ladercia, Recyiden, and Yetroid. It included the many magnificent things that were not seen in the Mushroom Kingdom. One of the men called Ross saying that they were ready to leave.

"Ross, we're ready to go the South Blixeron," he said.

Finishing his journal entry, Ross replied, "I'm coming Hans."

Getting into their rented car, the men drove to _Yetrodia Lanoitanartni Tropria_, also known as Yetroid Intranational Airport, in Yetropolis. They took a flight to South Blixeron. After the plane landed on a place called _Pirts Ytriht Ruof_, also known as Strip #34, the men traveled around the mechanized city and marveled at everything they saw.

The cars in South Blixeron were different from the other cars in Yetroid; they could literally fly! No magnetic roads were required and they were known more for flying than hovering. They flew in slow-strips and express-strips. The guys rented a Blixerin car and drove to the downtown district.

While going downtown, the men saw many tremendous factories producing and manufacturing items that would probably never exist in the Mushroom Kingdom. Some of these products were laser cannons, military spacecraft, super stealth jets, flying cars, large hydrogen fuel cells, Yetroidian-standard machine parts for Blixerin factories, various plasma guns, and robots of all sorts.

Once downtown, Ross and the others traveled along the streets and enjoyed the beautiful colors of the bars and the music of the nightclubs. Everything in their surroundings was so amazing that even the Yetroidian tongue stunned them. The man form the group named Hans listened to two Blixerins talking to each other:

"_Evah uoy draeh tuoba eht tnecer selbuort ni Blixerona Zetrodia pu htron?"_ asked one Blixerin to the other.

"_Tahw deneppah ereht Zint?"_ questioned the other.

"_I raeh taht eht Zetrodiane era ta ti niaga. Yeht tnes na ymra fo srotagitsevni ot kool rof srengierof taht era ton fo rehtie Zetrodia ro Yetrodia."_

"_Yhw?"_

"_I evah on eulc. I dluow leef yrros rof enoyna ohw dluow teg thguac yb esoht stoidi. I yllanosrep kniht taht Zetrodia si gniyrt ot wohs ffo sa lausu. Yeht kniht yeht nwo enoyreve!"_

"_Llew ta tsael ew evil ni Blixerona Yetrodia dna ton Blixerona Zetrodia."_

Hans did not understand what they were saying but they sounded like they were serious and disappointed. But this did not worry Hans; he thought the Yetroidian conversation was not concerning him or his friends in any way.

The group parked their Blixerin car by a recreational area at the side of the city. The park had metal floors and rich green grass. At some points of the park were ultramodern-looking lampposts. Right by where they parked was a black enclosed pedestrian bridge with flat plain windows. This bridge moved people from the downtown square to the center of the mechanized park. The men could see most of South Blixeron's enormous skyline from the park. They enjoyed looking at the scene of a futuristic place beyond the Mushroom World.

"This place is so beautiful…," said one of the men.

"I know. This was a very good idea to tour around Yetroid, Ross," said Hans.

Ross was looking and thinking about what the purpose for his travels outside the Kingdom was and what he saw along the way going as far as South Blixeron. He agreed that it was indeed a great idea to tour around a super-advanced country like Yetroid.

"Indeed it was a great idea," said Ross.

One of the men was reading a pamphlet about South Blixeron and surrounding cities that he got at a Blixerin tourist center while the guys were touring South Blixeron. A section talked about a city just called Blixeron.

"Hey Ross, check this out."

"What is it, Erick?" asked Ross.

Erick showed Ross the pamphlet. Blixeron was very similar to South Blixeron except it was north beyond the Yetroidian borderline. Blixeron was in a neighboring nation called Zetroid. Ross never heard of Zetroid before, but Erick said he remembered hearing that name from somewhere. All they knew now was that Zetroid bordered Yetroid's north side. According to the pamphlet, Blixeron was even more amazing than its Yetroidian neighbor, South Blixeron. Blixeron was called the most advanced city in the Milky Way Galaxy! Even though Ross was in awe by Yetroid's technological superiority to the Mushroom Kingdom or anything they had seen before, he did not believe that Blixeron was the most advanced city in the galaxy. Hans was suddenly interested in Blixeron after hearing Erick's descriptions.

"Erick, for some reason I doubt that Blixeron is the most advance city in the galaxy. I mean how are we suppose to know what's out there in the stars," said Ross, looking at the sky, "For all we know, there might be an even more advanced civilization."

"But Ross, we have all seen how Yetroid's like. It was as if we went into a time machine into the future. And since Blixeron isn't so far from here, the pamphlet might be right; Blixeron might actually be the most advanced city," said Hans.

"Yeah, let's go there and find out," said Erick.

Ross thought about it for a few seconds. It would be good to travel to a new country and explore its depth.

"Maybe you guys are right," said Ross, "I think we've seen enough of Yetroid. Let's go to Blixeron."

"Mike, Kent, what do you think? Should we go?" said Hans.

The two men who the question referred to seemed happy about going to Zetroid.

"I don't see a problem. I bet it will be even more fascinating than what we've seen in Yetroid," said Mike.

"I agree with Mike," said Kent, "What are we waiting for?"

"We have to know how to get there," said Hans.

Ross who had the pamphlet observed the map of Blixeron. He saw a thick purple line on the map that linked South Blixeron to Blixeron. He looked up the map legend for a thick purple line and it said "The Blixeron Belt". There was no other route to link the two cities, not even a minor street.

"What's the Blixeron Belt?" asked Erick, who was looking at the map with Ross.

"We should ask somebody," Ross suggested.

They look around and saw a man passing by them. He had white hair and wrinkly skin, but he did not look old at all.

"Pardon me…," said Ross to the man.

But the man was not in the mood to help strangers.

"_Og yawa!"_ grouched the man, who walked away.

"He didn't look like he was in a good mood," said Erick, a little concerned.

Another man was passing by. He was much different though. He was blond but a bit short.

"Pardon me…," said Ross again.

The short man turned around.

"You speak good Gnylian? That must mean you are not from here, am I right?" asked the short man.

Ross nodded.

"I see…" said the short man. His accent was very odd, it sounded similar to the Yetroidian chatting all around them. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes. We want to know what this is," said Erick, pointing at the Blixeron Belt on the map.

The short man studied the map and mumbled calmly "The Blixeron Belt" like it was something very special.

"What is the Blixeron Belt?" asked Ross.

The old man sighed.

"The Blixeron Belt is a superhighway. It is the only route you can take to get from Yetroid to Zetroid."

"Why isn't there any other way to get into Zetroid?" asked Kent.

"Well… since you people are not from Yetroid or Zetroid, this will be hard to explain. Just to make thing easy to understand, Zetroidians are very proud people. They think that they are the most superior race on the planet, so they do not want foreigners to suddenly spill into Zetroid. And some Zetroidians were trying to sneak out of Zetroid into Yetroid. In Zetroid, it is illegal to sneak out of the country. So the Blixeron Belt was constructed. This is the only legal route in to and out of Zetroid. It has high security; most make it through, though. Those who don't are usually arrested."

"Why?" asked Ross.

"I don't know completely," replied the short man, "I never went through the Blixeron Belt before. I think they arrest people who are wanted by the government or who make trouble."

"Well we won't make trouble, right guys?" said Mike.

The Mushroomers nod.

"So you guys want to go to Blixeron?" asked the short man.

"Yes, we do," said Hans, "We just what to know what's there, that's all. We shouldn't be in much trouble."

"Then I wish all of you the greatest of luck," said the short man.

"Most appreciated," Hans grinned.

The short man waved good-bye to the five Mushroomer men who were about to enter the Blixeron Belt and left them.

"Let's go then," said Ross.

The guys got into the Blixerin car again and started to travel on a local highway. They followed the map accurately. At the end of the local highway was a bunch of other highways merging together; this must be where the Blixeron Belt starts.

The speed on the Blixeron Belt was very fast. Flying cars of all sorts zoomed down the many lanes in the Belt. Ahead of them was something that looked similar to a tollbooth. This must have been some of the security in the Blixeron Belt. A security gate stops the car from moving any further. In the booth was a slim pale-skinned man. First, he asked what language the passengers were native to speaking.

"_Si ti Yetrodiane? Ies ieta Zeetairudoiean?_ Is it Gnylian?" asked the security officer.

"Gnylian," replied Ross, who was the driver.

"Okay. Name please."

"Ross."

"Last name?"

"Thomas. Ross Thomas."

"How many passengers?"

"Five, including me."

"Reason for going to Blixeron?"

Ross thought quickly for a very few seconds.

"My friends and I want to check out what's in Blixeron."

"Have you been in Zetroid at all before?"

"No, sir."

Judging by the officer's expressions, he found Ross's politeness a little suspicious, but he continued.

"Age?"

"Twenty-four years old."

"Married or single?"

Ross did not like the questions that were being asked, but he was told that the Blixeron Belt had high security, so he had no other choice but to answer them.

"I'm single."

"How about the other passengers?"

"They are all single too."

"Okay. That will be 9 Yets," said the officer putting his hand out.

The Yet was the Yetroidian currency. When Ross and the others arrived in Yetroid from Recyiden, they were stunned at how expensive the Yetroidian currency was. To have one Yet, forty Mushroom Coins — the Mushroom Kingdom's currency — were required. They went to a money exchange center, took most of their Mushroom Coins, and exchanged it for Yets. So just nine Yets were pretty expensive! After paying, the officer said to Ross:

"I would highly suggest after entering the Blixeron Belt to move to the very right lanes. Over there, security procedures are done by people who speak Gnylian. You don't want to have them done by someone who doesn't speak your language, right?"

"All right. Thank you for the information," said Ross.

After that, the security gate opened. As he was advised, Ross moved to one of the right lanes. Hans counted eighteen lanes: nine going to Zetroid, the other nine coming from Zetroid. That was a lot to imagine! Yet they were on it.

The Blixeron Belt was like a bridge, except it did not go over water, it went over many roads and buildings. According to Mike who was looking down the superhighway, houses were built under this bridge! It towered over most of the other roads they saw around them. It elevated very high that it started to tower over moderately tall buildings. The more they went through the very long superhighway, the more mechanized everything around them looked. The pamphlet was right; Blixeron was more advanced than South Blixeron. They probably entered the most ultramodern nation on the planet.

Driving along they saw another security gate. The car stoped. Ross did not see a booth but instead a monitor. Above where the car parked, there was a large scanner device about as long as the width of the car. The monitor said "Scanning vehicle" and the scanner started to hover above the car and moved back and forth the car. This took only a few seconds, and the monitor said:

"_No weapons detected. You may proceed."_

Oddly, to the guys, the monitor sounded very feminine, but that really did not matter to them.

"That was quick," said Hans.

The security gate opened and the guys drove again. They did not expect a test for weapons, but since this was a very advance civilization, the people expected any sort of weapon to be used.

Continuing to enter the Zetroidian lands, Ross noticed that the bridge-like structure of the Blixeron Belt descended; he presumed the superhighway was about to end. He also noticed a radical change in the weather while going closer and closer to Blixeron; it became very cloudy. In fact, too cloudy that it darkened the entire vicinity. After going through two more security procedures, the men finally made it to Blixeron. Blixeron was more stunning than anything they saw in Yetroid. There were towers everywhere. Kent was almost dizzy from seeing them. They drove around the city getting lost in the depth of the small streets.

Ross could not find a tourist center, but he did find a small map store in one of the smaller streets. They parked their car by the store. The store had funky futuristic style neon lights. Ross and the others got out of the car to enter the store, but before they could proceed, security vehicles suddenly surrounded the five men. They were all surprised.

"What's going on Ross?" asked Mike.

"I have no clue Mike," said Ross calmly, but worryingly.

Officers started to come out of the vehicles. They all had sleek, high-performance shotguns. They aimed the guns at the Mushroomers. Ross noticed the emblem of one of the officers. It had a black star and under the star was writing that Ross could not recognize; the letters looked too alien.

"_Tahkeis ies tahkee Berlaixeirun Pulaichee! Eiu airee undoeer airreest!"_ yelled one of the officers.

Another officer told the previous officer, _"Tahkeei speeak Geneilayian."_

Ross and the others could not understand a word they were saying, but finally one of the officers said: "This is the Blixeron Police. You're under arrest!"

"But why?! What have we done?" questioned Erick.

"Don't ask questions! You will be shot if you don't cooperate with us!"

Ross was very confused and panicked. He never expected this to happen. They just entered Zetroid. But Ross told the others to do what the officers said. And so they were all handcuffed with alien-like handcuffs. They were not attached by metal chains, but with an indestructible super-plastic material. This was just some of the proof of how advance Zetroidians were!

Now the five men were seated in the security vehicles and the vehicles took off in to the depth of the cold colorless nation, feeling worried, concerned. They all prayed to the Starmen for their safety as their surroundings became darker and darker. Ross suddenly thought if the Mushroomer Queen can help them in a way, but as he thought more about it, the more he doubted.


	10. International Disputes

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

The Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach, and Koopas (C) Nintendo.  
Ross Thomas, Hans Alfons, Erick Adrian, Mike Arnold, Kent Arnold, Strawberry Toadstool, David Toadstool, Alexander Thomas, Joseph Reed, Mr. Albrecht, Sir Victor Anisim Vlad, Toadstorx, Toad, Henry Edwin, Marquis Merit, Hakiahd (Head) Keft Gholt, Michael, the Mushroom Kingdom Secret Service, Recyiden, Yetroid, Blixeron, Uraki Xi, Zetropolis, Zetroid, the Blixeron Belt, the Zetroidian language, and the Gnylian lanugage (C) me.

_Notice: Some of the content in chapter is in Zetroidian. And the Gnylian language is English._

**International Disputes**

Somewhere in the dry deserted mountains of the Southern Regions of the Mushroom Kingdom, there was an underground base. The entrance into the base was a well-hidden, secured, metal sliding door. Right by the door was a security camera and a password keypad. The entrance was in a narrow cave at the base of a mountain. The cave's entrance was well hidden by desert shrubs and bushes.

A man walking along the dusty path entered the cave to the door. The man had straight black hair and wore a black suit and black shades. He also had a small mike in his ear. The mike looked as if it was from an ultramodern nation. The man stood next to the password keypad; the keypad spoke in a mechanical tone.

"_Please enter password,"_ it said.

The man entered a password that was composed of a complicated variety of numbers. After pressing enter, the keypad accepted the password.

"_Welcome Alexander Thomas,"_ it said.

The metal door opened and led to a short hallway. Everything was made of metal. It was like an extraterrestrial spy agency. At the end of the hallway was another metal door, but this time there was no keypad. Once Alexander was in the middle of the hallway, the door that he previously opened immediately shut closed, making a hard metallic noise. In the hallway were more cameras. There was also a scanner device on the side. It scanned Alexander up and down. Once it was done, the scanner allowed Alexander to proceed and the next metal door opened.

When he entered, he was in a large, white room. At the back of the room were two cylindrical glass elevators going to different floors of the underground facility. At the sides of the rooms were entrances into different passageways that lead to different sectors of the facility. Hanging off the ceiling were five LCD screens showing different messages, news, and announcements. In front of Alexander was a white crescent shaped desk. A bald, green-eyed man was sitting at the desk working on something with a flat sleek cell phone, and a white monitor computer with fast speed. All the men walking around the facility wore clothes identical to Alexander's: black suits and black shades! The only thing that made the men different was their hair color, hairstyle, voice, and eye color. Alexander approached the desk in front of him. The man working at the desk noticed him.

"Well if it isn't Alex! It's been a while since I've seen you around here, buddy. How are things for you?" the man said.

"Pretty fine, Joe. Especially since my previous mission was a great success," Alex replied.

"What was your previous mission?" Joe asked.

"Well, I had to go to Recyiden to see what the Recyidenese were up to."

"Recyiden huh? I hear that Recyiden people use sound for almost every purpose. Is this true?"

"Most defiantly," Alex replied, "They have what is called 'Ultrasonic Technology.' This technology is exclusive in Recyiden. Not even Zetroid, the most advanced nation in the galaxy, has this kind of stuff."

"So what can people do with Ultrasonic Technology?" Joe asked.

"Well," said Alex, "With this tech, cars and planes can run on special sound generators that move the vehicle forward without gasoline. Guns in Recyiden literally shoot out sound energy. This energy is very concentrated and cannot be heard by the unaided ear. Also, noisy cities in Recyiden have what are called 'sonic power plants' which convert sound into electricity. These are just some of the things I've heard. There is much more!"

Joe stared at Alex shocked by the descriptions of Recyidenese technology.

"Are you kidding me!? Sound wave can actually do all of that?! Not even we, the MK Secret Service, have such technology!"

"I know. As a member of the Secret Service, I did my rightful job of helping this kingdom by spying of the Recyidenese. Fortunately, the Recyidenese had no plans dealing with the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Thank goodness!" exclaimed Joe, "If Recyiden had the intention of attacking, they could run over the kingdom faster than a blasted Koopa."

"I know. But this kingdom has the Secret Service so that we can protect the people from uncommon threats like Zetroid and Recyiden."

"I know that already, man. But there is always this one thing that bothers me; why don't we protect the kingdom from those damn Koopas? I mean they are the ones who always attack the kingdom, right?"

"That's what I always think about too, Joe. But according to strict tradition, we are not supposed to deal with the Koopas. Our guns are too powerful for them. It's the job of the Mushroomer Army to protect the kingdom from the Koopas anyway."

"I see… So this means that we're too strong for Koopas?"

"That's what I'm thinking," agreed Alex, "But I heard there was one exception to the rule. If the Koopas do too much harm to the kingdom or if they severely harm an important person in the kingdom, like the Queen or Prime Minister, we agents of the Secret Service can strike the Koopas."

"That sort of makes sense," said Joe.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Joe. My cousin Ross said a long while ago that he and his friends were going to tour the world or something. He didn't tell me much about what specific destination he was going to. So I fear he might not survive out there. But when I told him that, he laughed and said,

'_Don't worry, man! Almost everyone I know tells me that. I don't see a big deal about visiting other countries.'_

Unfortunately, what would he know about what's out there? I can't just tell him about the horrors of Zetroid and other nations, because the only kind of person who can know that kind of information is a secret agent, and I can't tell him that I work for the Secret Service."

"I understand, Alex," said Joe, "Don't worry about it. Ross will be fine."

"I hope so," shrugged Alex.

After a short pause, an intercom system turned on with a beep and said:

"_Attention! May Agent Alexander Thomas and Agent Joseph Reed please come to the Head's Office. Thank you."_

Alex and Joe were startled by the message. They wondered if something bad happened that dealt with them.

"You and I…"

"…to the boss's office?"

"But why?" said Joe, "I hope we didn't do anything wrong."

"I doubt that. But we were never called to the boss before. All of our missions before were directed by vice-administrators. I hear that the missions assigned by the boss are dangerous, and sometimes deathly."

They had silent moment of thought. Then after getting their paranoia out of their way, they proceeded to the Head's Office, where 'the boss' was. They had to take the glass elevators and go all the way to the top floor, where most of the Secret Service administrators were. They walked down the hallways to look for the boss's office. Alex accidentally bumped into his vice-administrator, who assigned all of Alex and Joe's missions so far.

"Oops, I highly apologize for bumping into you, Mr. Albrecht. I didn't know you were there. The thing is, Joe and I were looking for the Head's Office because we were appointed to go there."

Mr. Albrecht looked at Alex and smiled, indicating forgiveness. He wore a chocolate brown trench coat, unlike the other people at the Secret Service. He was blonde with brown highlights.

"It's okay, Mr. Thomas. I'll lead you and Mr. Reed to the Head's Office," said Mr. Albrecht.

Mr. Albrecht led Alex and Joe to the Head's Office, which was by another hallway. While they walked to their destination, Mr. Albrecht wanted to mention something to Alex and Joe.

"Thomas, Reed; I have to tell you something. The mission that the Head will assign to you two will be very difficult and dangerous. He will assign this special mission to you because he had observed your previous missions and decided that you two were the right men to do the task. I wish the both of you the best of luck on your next mission."

"Very appreciated," replied Alex enthusiastically.

Alex and Joe finally arrived at the entrance of the Head's office. Mr. Albrecht left them to face the head alone. On the door of the office, there was a room number and name:

Room 001

Sir Victor Anisim Vlad

"That must be the boss's name," said Joe.

"Probably," agreed Alex.

Alex opened the door and they entered the office. The office had a very different environment from all of the other rooms in the facility. There was a mild lamp lit by the desk at the other end of the room. There was also lighting on the ceiling, not too bright or too dim. There were large bookshelves on the sides of the room. At the desk was a stern-looking man with dark-gray hair. He wore a black suit like the other people, but he did not wear shades. His eyes seemed to be golden-orange in color. He looked as if he were around his early 50's.

"Ah, I see Mr. Thomas and Reed have arrived," said the boss, Mr. Vlad. His voice was deep in a way that one can tell that Mr. Vlad was very wise. "Come and have a seat."

There were two chairs sitting in front of the desk. Alex and Joe sat down. They felt prepared to know what their next mission was.

"I have called you two here for a very important reason," Mr. Vlad started, "I've been seeing the wonderful work you two have been accomplishing. You two work well together as a team and have not failed any of your missions yet. On top of it all, you two are very brave men."

There was a short pause in the room. Mr. Vlad continued.

"I believe that you two wonderful agents can successfully complete this very critical mission that I am about to assign you."

Mr. Vlad went into one of his cabinets and pulled out five photos. He put them on his desk for Alex and Joe to see. Alex suddenly became startled when he recognized one of the photos to be of his cousin, Ross.

"Wait a minute, that's Ross!" exclaimed Alex, "What is going on?"

Mr. Vlad sighed, bringing another short pause.

"Is see you recognize that fellow," said Mr. Vlad, "You see, these five people were recently reported to be captured."

"Captured?" exclaimed Joe, "By who?"

"These five people were traveling around the world for some apparent reason," said Mr. Vlad, "Their travels were halted by Zetroidians, who took them away."

Both Alex and Joe were startled when they heard 'Zetroidians'.

"What!?" Alex exclaimed, "How the hell did Ross get into Zetroid!? This isn't good. The Zetroidians have hated us Mushroomers for a very long time, and no one even knows why!"

"Yes Alex," said Mr. Vlad, "I was also startled when I found out that our people ended up getting into Zetroid. It was only those five people. Now here is your mission: sneak into Zetroid and see what has happened to those five people. What I have heard is that the five people will be held in court, being asked questions by the Zetroidian government. I want you two to find out what happens in the meeting. Tell me everything important. And there is one more thing I have to warn you: do not attempt to rescue the five captives. I repeat: do not attempt to rescue the five captives. Understand?"

"Hold up," said Joe, "I understand the mission and all, but why can't we rescue the five men? We should be able to–"

"If the Zetroidian government found out that the five captives were rescued," interrupted Mr. Vlad, "the kingdom could be in great peril. They would probably declare war on us and wipe out the entire kingdom within a day."

The thought of an advanced nation having the ability of wiping out the kingdom was horrifying for Alex and Joe, but they were not really surprised that Zetroid had the ability to do such a thing, since Zetroid is an ultramodern nation and the Mushroom Kingdom is nowhere near that.

"I realize that there will be great danger for the kingdom if we take back the captives," said Joe, "but how will the men be able to come back to the Mushroom Kingdom if we don't rescue them?"

"There is nothing to worry about at all," said Mr. Vlad, "Once you two get back here, we will find a way to negotiate with the Zetroidians. We might have to bring the Queen with us."

"The Queen?" said Alex, "But we can't just let her go to such a filthy place like Zetroid. She'll get hurt, or even worse…"

"Don't worry," said Mr. Vlad, calmly, "When she negotiates, she'll be accompanied with you two, a few other agents, and me. She'll be fine. Now go off to your mission. I want to know what the Zetroidians will do to the five men so that we can react at an appropriate time. I wish the two of you the best of luck."

"It's a pleasure," said Alex, "We won't let you down!"

Alex and Joe left for their new mission. They suddenly seemed to have much confidence with them.

It had been several hours since being arrested, and now Ross seemed more worried and worried. He never knew that this would happen to him and his friends. For most of the hours being in Zetroid, they had been caged into filthy prison cells in a city the Zetroidians called Uraki Xi. Outside the prison, the sounds of war jets and space jets could be heard. Suddenly an officer came in with keys and opened the five cells that Ross and his friends were locked in.

"You five are coming with me," grunted the Zetroidian officer, "We are going to Zetropolis for a court meeting."

Without question, Ross and the others followed the officer to security vehicles. The vehicles zoomed through Uraki Xi's enormous downtown complex. They made it to a government building standing taller than the sky, like most towers in Zetroid and Yetroid. In the tower, they went into a special room called the Translocation Room. They went into booth-like machines called transporters. The transporters would teleport the guys to the city of Zetropolis in an instant! In Zetropolis, they made it into similar transporters.

Just like Uraki Xi, Zetropolis was a gigantic megalopolis. All the cities in Zetroid seemed to have gloomy, dark weather. The skies were dark purple in all of them, but in Zetropolis, there was a heavy thunderstorm and a lot of rain pouring. The five men were transported to another tall tower, but this tower was different from all of the others they had ever seen: it was shaped like a star. It also was not as tall as the other towers. Ross found out that this tower is the main government building of the entire country, as the Mushroom Palace was the main government building for the Mushroom Kingdom.

In the tower, the guys went into a giant meeting room that rather resembled a courtroom. There were many people chatting and discussing in the room. There was a large desk at the end seated by what seemed to be the leader. He was tall and had black hair with purple highlights. He was quite handsome. His eyes were of a bright lavender color. He looked at Ross and the others with disgust. This made Ross feel even worse than before because he did not know why everyone was looking down at them.

Then one of the people in the room who was apparently a spokesman, announced in the Zetroidian language:

"_Fairoom hakeire oon, tahkeis meitinge weeyilla bere hakeilad eyen tahkee Geneilayian laynguaje."_

Ross did not understand what he said, but he noticed everyone started to talk Gnylian, the official language of the Mushroom Kingdom, SimNation, and many other countries. Ross and the others were told to sit at the witness box, which had five chairs. The chatting amongst the people in the room was settled, and the meeting started. Another spokesman stood on a podium to start the topic.

"Today all of you wonderful officials of Zetroid have been called down here for our grand meeting. The focus of our meeting is on a possible invasion being planned. We have found evidence that a barbaric nation is attempting to take over the great Zetroid! But first they need spies to see what is going on in our wonderful nation."

The officials chatted about the possibility of a nation trying to take over Zetroid. Some even gasped when they heard what the spokesman said.

"What in the world is he talking about?" muttered the confused Erick. The other four Mushroomers were as confused when they heard what the spokesman said. The spokesman continued.

"These five men are the proof that there are spies in Zetroid," exclaimed the spokesman, pointed at Ross and his friends.

This caught the five men's attention.

Spies? Them? How can they be convicted as spies when they just entered Zetroid only checking the place out?

"Our magnificent guards at the Blixeron Belt determined that they were men from the gruesome lands of the Mushroom Kingdom. Then the Blixeron Police hunted them down and arrested them. What do you think of this, _Hakiahd_ Keft Gholt?"

The man with purple highlights who glared at Ross earlier was apparently listening to the discussion very carefully. He stood up from his seat. His voice was pretty harsh.

"So I see that a bunch of total fools are trying to bring the fall of the glorious Zetroid. This is outrageous! I always knew that filthy kingdom would start fighting again! Damn them and their people! Let them all burn to hell! I should have these five arseholes hanged naked in front of all the Zetroidian people to demonstrate to the whole world what happens when someone tries to mess with the wonderful nation of Zetroid!" exclaimed Mr. Keft Gholt, the dictator of Zetroid.

This very offending comment made from Mr. Gholt stunned the five Mushroomers. But they did not know what Mr. Gholt meant when he said the Mushroom Kingdom would fight 'again'. Has the Mushroom Kingdom fought before? This was a shock to Ross and the others. They were both angry and afraid, since they doubt that the Mushroom Kingdom could do much to an ultramodern nation like Zetroid. But one of the men would retort back.

"Hey, wait a minute!" exclaimed Hans, "What the hell are you talking about? What is going on here?"

The snapping back of Hans seemed to interest Mr. Gholt, who appeared to enjoy arguing a lot. Hans continued.

"And when were we ever spies? We don't spy! We are travelers from a very sincere kingdom with modest people! You probably have the Mushroom Kingdom confused for some unknown ruthless country!"

Ross was afraid that they would get into serious trouble after Hans was snarling at the dictator, also known as the _Hakiahd_. But to his surprise, Mr. Gholt smirked and even snickered.

"Wonderful people of Zetroid… don't listen to this fool!" howled Mr. Gholt, "All the crap coming out from his mouth is lies! All lies!"

There was no point for Hans to continue ranting; he finally anticipated his defeat. Mr. Gholt smirked at the five men and said,

"But don't worry… you dirt-bags won't be executed yet. I will save that for tomorrow evening. Besides, I'm tired. I need a little pleasure tonight."

With that, Ross and the others were sent to a local jail in Zetropolis. They each hoped that the Starmen would protect them.

While the five men had not noticed, Alex and Joe were spying secretly during the meeting with the Zetroidian Dictator to gather information. They arrived using an exclusive technology that allowed the men to transport anywhere they wanted using watch-like devices. But the transporting devices took up many batteries and should be used carefully. They did not want anyone to find them with such technology.

"Wow," said Alex, "Did you see how that dictator talked about the Mushroom Kingdom like that? What nerve!"

"He's just racist," suggested Joe, "And anyway, we have all the valuable information we need to tell the boss."

With that, the agents set their transporters to take them back to the Secret Service Headquarters. They disappeared in a flash and ended up at the secret entrance into the headquarters. Going through the security procedures and halls, they made it to Mr. Vlad's office.

Mr. Vlad seemed to be glad to see the two agents again. His face was more sober than ever, but there was a little smile. Mr. Vlad did not tend to smile a lot.

"Glad to see you both in good condition," said Mr. Vlad calmly, "Tell me what happened at the meeting and the current status of the five captives."

Ross and Joe explained everything about the meeting and the execution that would happen the next day. Mr. Vlad listened to them very carefully, analyzing every word the agents said.

"So it seems that the Zetroidians will execute the men tomorrow. That means that we will need to react as soon as possible," said Mr. Vlad.

"Yeah," said Joe, "And I was really freaked out when I saw one of those five men yelling at the dictator! I thought the end would surely arrive."

"Well, I guess that we can thank the stars for preventing such a thing happening," said Alex.

"Yes, now here's the plan," said Mr. Vlad, "First we will notify the Queen and the Prime Minister about the situation. Then we will bring the Queen and Minister with us to negotiate with the Zetroidians. We might have to face some consequences, but at all costs, we must not trigger a war."

The two agents nodded, indicating that they understood.

"So now what?" asked Joe.

"We need to contact the Prime Minister," said Mr. Vlad.

With that, Vlad pressed a green button on the intercom device sitting on his desk.

"Please send Toadstorx to my office immediately, thank you," Mr. Vlad called into the intercom.

Almost immediately after that, a Toadish came into Mr. Vlad's office. He looked much different from all the other Toadish in the kingdom. Toadstorx's mushroom cap was black and green, unlike the usual white and red. He wore shades and a black suit just like every agent in the Secret Service. Toadstorx had a small brown goatee. His voice was the same as every other male Toadish though.

"Toadstorx, I would like you to tell Marquis Merit to contact Prime Minister Henry Edwin that we request to see Mrs. Toadstool," said Vlad.

"Yes Head," Toadstorx replied.

After the toad left, Alex said to Mr. Vlad, "I never saw a Toadish work for the Secret Service."

"He is the only one who does," Mr. Vlad said, "We trust that he would keep our identity as a secret."

"I have a question, Head," said Joe, "Who's Marquis Merit?"

"Mr. Merit is sort of the 'communication' between the Secret Service and the Mushroomer's Government. He asks the Prime Minister for permission if any member of the Secret Service can meet a government official, or the Prime Minister himself, or the Monarch," Mr. Vlad explained.

"So Mr. Merit will ask the Prime Minister permission to meet the Queen and tell her about our situation?" Alex asked.

"Exactly," Mr. Vlad replied.

"It's up to them now," Joe sighed.

Meanwhile, there was a phone call in a peaceful town. The town was about half a mile south from the Mushroom Palace. There were beautiful plains and meadows around the town. It housed most of the government officials of the nation, including the Prime Minister Henry Edwin. In fact, the phone call occurred in Mr. Edwin's office, while Edwin was doing paperwork dealing with the recent negotiations of the Koopas.

Edwin was a blissful looking man in his 30s with dirty blond hair. His mustache was barely visible, but nevertheless it was there. He was slightly shorter than most people were, but he was not too short. He wore a brown suit with a red and white tie.

He was so focused on his paperwork that when the phone rang, he literally fell off his chair, startled by the sudden sound. After getting himself together, the Prime Minister picked up the phone.

"Hello?" said Mr. Edwin.

"Salutations Prime Minister," said a young sober, yet cool voice on the other line, "It is me, Marquis."

"Ah yes, Marquis. How are you today?" asked the Prime Minister calmly.

"Perfectly fine, Minister," Marquis replied.

"Usually when you call, you reveal important or critical news to me."

"You're perfectly right. I need permission if the Head of the MKSS and some of his agents can visit the Queen. You will have to meet us at the Palace because we need you too."

"I see… Well, is the issue that critical?"

"Yes."

"Well then, I will have to put the whole kingdom under the responsibility of my good friend, the Vice Prime Minister. He's a very hard working person, and I think the kingdom should be okay."

"It's settled then. Arrive at the Queen's Castle as soon as possible."

"Okay. Good day."

And with that, the Prime Minister hung up the phone and prepared to leave for Strawberry's residence.

"Tag you're it!"

"Oh phooey. No far! Oh well. I'll catch you Michael!"

In the pleasant gardens of the Mushroom Palace, Peach and a group of other children from rich families were playing tag. These children's families lived in a rich village not far from the Castle. The children would be honored to spend some of their time playing or chatting with the Princess.

The one named Michael just tagged Peach. Now Peach must tag another child or Michael if she wanted. She seemed very happy, as if she forgot about much of the scenarios that occurred to her as her vampire self. She acted much like an everyday child.

From inside the castle, Strawberry smiled as she saw her daughter and the other children laughing and playing outside. It was a feeling of euphoria for her to see her daughter safe and happy.

But suddenly, Toad came up to Strawberry.

"Your Highness, the Prime Minister wishes to see you. He says it's urgent."

"Why yes, Toad. Let the Minister into the castle," said Strawberry calmly.

With that, Toad and other Toadish opened the entrance and allowed Mr. Edwin inside. Mr. Edwin found Strawberry in the throne room, apparently fixing her hair a little.

"Good day Prime Minister," Strawberry greeted happily, "How do you do today?"

"I feel just great! Thank you, Your Highness," Mr. Edwin replied, "How are you?"

"Quite pleasant actually," said Strawberry gleefully, "It has been very peaceful for a while."

"Yes. But onwards to business now," the Prime Minister said a little seriously, "I have urgent news for you. You remember the Secret Service, right?"

"Oh yes, I remember them. It was such a long time ago. David and I were quite shocked to know about them and their power. Though, it was quite nice when they saw Peach as a baby. They thought she was quite cute. What has happened to the Service?"

"They asked me permission to meet you today. They seemed to be in a bit of rush, so I accepted."

"You did?" Strawberry asked in a slight startled tone, "But there are children outside and citizens around."

"I'm terribly sorry, Your Highness, but it seemed urgent. I couldn't just stop them."

There was a slight pause.

"Well, all right. Minister, you'll have to come with me and get the children back to their homes. I would be horrified if they end up seeing secret agents in the vicinity."

"Yes, Your Highness."

So Strawberry and Mr. Edwin went out to the garden. Peach was happy yet startled at the same time to see her mother coming out with the Prime Minister. Peach hoped there was not urgent news.

"Hello children!" the Prime Minister greeted as he and Strawberry arrived to where the children were.

All the children seemed to stop playing, as they saw the Prime Minister arrive. To them, that meant that there was important news.

"We are terribly sorry," Mr. Edwin started, "but we were told that a meeting would occur in the Castle. This meeting is of most importance and the Princess cannot be left out of it. You children will have to proceed to your homes. Your parents will come to pick you up."

All the children, including Peach, moaned disappointingly; they wanted to play more.

"Can we stay just a little longer with the Princess? Pleeaseee?" one of the girls requested.

"Your Highness, can we have some more time here?" a boy asked. "We'll promise not to make any trouble."

Strawberry had a sadden face; she knew that the children wanted to play more, but she also knew that it had to end soon.

"I'm sorry," Strawberry said unhappily yet convincingly, "You can visit another day without any disruptions; I promise."

Knowing that the Queen was always true to her word, the children prepared to go to their homes. They wished Peach a happy day as they said their farewells.

Once the parents of the children came and left, Peach wondered about the importance of the meeting the Prime Minister was talking about earlier. She went to her mother to find out about it.

"Mother, what sort of meeting is this?" Peach asked Strawberry, "I don't remember a meeting happening in the castle. They usually happen at the Officials' Building."

"It's sort of hard to explain, dear," Strawberry explained, "All you should know is that the Prime Minister said it was urgent. You'll see soon."

"Okay," Peach said, a little lost. Her question was not answered well enough.

And before she could ask better question, Strawberry told Peach to come with her to the throne room. Peach followed. In the room, there were some officials, and the Prime Minister, talking to a tall, handsome man. His eyes were of a bright green and his brownish black hair was slightly spiky on the edges. As any typical person from the Secret Service, the man wore a black suit, but no shades.

"…it's a problem so immense that it's involving the lethal dictatorship from the other side of the world," the man was telling Mr. Edwin.

"Really?" said the startled Prime Minister, "Well then, this is truly serious!"

Peach did not understand that they meant when they said _lethal dictatorship from the other side of the world_, but she was quite interested in the topic and listened carefully to their words.

But the men seemed to stop talking. The black suited man turned to see Strawberry and Peach, as if he remembered seeing them a while ago.

"Ah, You Highness! It's quite an honor to meet you again," the man told Strawberry as he bowed to her, Strawberry greeted back, "And is this your lovely daughter? Quite wonderful to see a cute little baby grow into a nice young girl."

Peach seemed quite lost in the man's words. Did this man know her from before? If he did, then who was he?

"Um, pardon me sir, but have we met before?" Peach asked as politely as possible.

"We have, dear Princess, but you were only a baby at the time. My name is Marquis Merit. It's a pleasure to meet you," Marquis said with a bow.

"Oh, I see now. Well, it's nice to meet you too," Peach greeted happily.

"When are the rest of the agents coming?" Strawberry asked Marquis.

"They should be here soon, Your Highness. All I know is that they will use teleporters to get here," Marquis replied.

"_Teleporters?"_ Peach thought, _"Could that be possible?"_

Peach was surprised by this mode of transportation. She wondered if this was done through magic, but she did not want to ask because she felt she would distract everyone with her unnecessary question. Only time would tell what would happen next.

After a moderately long pause, a large green portal suddenly appeared in the middle of the throne room. Everyone was startled, well, everyone except Marquis. Peach was so astonished that she hid behind her mother's dress, peeking her head for a better look at the twisting portal.

Peach noticed someone resembling Toad coming out of the portal. He wore a black suit and was black and green. He was holding a glowing green device that Peach believed caused the portal to appear. Following the Toadish was a bunch of various men, some of them being Mr. Vlad, Alex, and Joe. The Toadish started to talk.

"Greetings, fellow people of the Mushroom Kingdom. On behalf of the Service, I, Toadstorx, would like everyone to welcome Sir Victor Vlad, the Head of the Secret Service."

Peach noticed Mr. Vlad. She took a good look at him. His sharp stern face made Peach infer that Mr. Vlad was a very wise and experienced man. She thought that he went through a lot in his life. Peach felt an odd feeling when she looked into Mr. Vlad's golden eyes, as if he were looking right into her mind. She suddenly wanted to know more about him. What was Mr. Vlad's importance? Had he met Peach's mother before? And what exactly was the Secret Service? There were so many questions that Peach wanted answered.

"Mr. Vlad, it is quite a pleasure to meet you again," Strawberry said, curtsying.

"It is good to see you again too, Mrs. Toadstool," Vlad said back, "We really needed to see you. Something significant happened."

All Peach could do now was listen. She thought it was rather odd that Mr. Vlad's voice was firm, yet smooth at the same time.

"What happened?" Strawberry asked Mr. Vlad.

"It seems that five citizens were traveling outside the Mushroom Kingdom. The reason isn't known at the moment," Vlad explained.

"Who are these five citizens?" Strawberry asked.

"I believed that their names were Ross Thomas, Hans Alfons, Erick Adrian, Mike Arnold, and Kent Arnold."

"How are these men? Did they get hurt?"

"Not quite. But something bad did happen to them. According to reports, they were captured by Zetroidians."

Strawberry and a bunch of other people flinched when they heard _Zetroidian_. Peach wondered why.

"They were captured!?" Strawberry exclaimed, "Oh no! Will they be okay Mr. Vlad?"

"They will face peril if we don't take action," Mr. Vlad replied, "We are planning to go to Zetroid soon to negotiate a solution. We need you and Mr. Edwin to come with us."

Both Strawberry and the Prime Minister were shocked by this. Go to Zetroid? That would be dangerous.

"Negotiate with _those people_?" Mr. Edwin said surprisingly, "I mean we would like to save those men, but we can't take the risk of going to such a corrupted country!"

"Why not?" Toadstorx questioned, "We got the best agents in this hemisphere; and we got Mr. Vlad; you guys should be okay."

Peach was more confused than ever. It almost gave her a headache thinking about the complex situation. Why were her mother and the Prime Minister worried about going to Zetroid? What was so bad about Zetroid, besides the fact that they captured five Mushroomers? Peach could not keep all her thoughts in her head. She felt she needed to take a part in this 'meeting'.

"But why did these so called 'Zetroidians' capture the five men. What did the men do?"

Mr. Vlad just noticed Peach. He remembered the last time he saw Peach as a baby with Marquis.

"Ah, Princess Peach. So nice of you to join our discussion," Mr. Vlad said, "Well before I answer your question, do you even know who the Zetroidians are?"

"Um, no Sir," Peach replied politely.

"Well to make a long description short, Zetroidians are filthy people with no sense of respect for anyone. They are basically the lowest of human beings. Though unfortunately, they are the most technologically advance civilization in the known world."

Peach was startled by this information.

"Really?" the astonished Peach asked, "But why are they so bad then?"

"Well that is hard to explain. You would have to understand their psychology. But it is so complex that not even your mother could understand. But what is quite understandable is that the Zetroidians hate us Mushroomers. The five men did absolutely nothing but enter their country. That on it's own is a crime in Zetroid," Mr. Vlad replied.

"I see… I understand now. So now five of our citizens have been taken by these bad people called Zetroidians. Just how far is Zetroid anyway?"

"Very far. It is on the other side of the world. That's why their technology does not have an effect on this kingdom; we are too far from them."

"I see. But then how did the five men go so far to Zetroid?"

Strawberry was impressed at Peach's conversation with Mr. Vlad. Peach was only a child, yet she could easily understand the complex situation.

"That's one of the things we are investigating," said Mr. Vlad, "Oh, Mrs. Toadstool; I forgot to tell you that the Zetroidians have decided to execute the five men tomorrow."

Strawberry and a few others gasped to what Mr. Vlad said. Peach was especially shocked.

"They wouldn't!" Peach exclaimed, "Do they even have a good reason to kill them?"

"The Zetroidians claim that the five men are spies. This is obviously an excuse to start a war with us," said Mr. Vlad.

"A war?"

Peach could not imagine a war with a nation she knew as the most high-tech. The Mushroom Kingdom would have no chance against Zetroid.

"I don't see why they would want to have a war with us when we live on the other side of the world," Peach said worryingly.

"They have always looked for an excuse to destroy the non-Zetroidian world," said Mr. Vlad, "All we can do is to prevent such action. We must get ready soon. Mrs. Toadstool and Mr. Edwin should prepare. We are leaving to Zetroid in about an hour."

"Don't worry, Your Highness," said Alex, "There will be agents like me and Joseph here to protect you and the Prime Minister from the Zetroidians."

"Yeah," said Joe, "It will be all right."

"Well," said Strawberry, "Prime Minister, did you contact the Vice Prime Minister?"

"Yes I have, your highness," said Mr. Edwin, "He will take care of the Kingdom while we're gone. And the Princess will be protected by special guards while she stays here."

"Excellent," said Strawberry, and said finally, "We are ready to go, Mr. Vlad."

"Good. We will first stop at the Headquarters for the Secret Service to get our supplies and to get our men ready for this 'visit'," said Mr. Vlad.

And with that, Toadstorx activated the device he was holding earlier and made a portal appear in the middle of the room again. As people were preparing to enter the portal, Strawberry said her farewells to Peach.

"Good bye for now, Peach. Stay safe," said Strawberry.

"Bye Mother!" said Peach, hugging her mother "You stay safe too!"

"Don't worry. I know that these brave men will protect me from any harm. Good bye, dear!"

"Bye!" said Peach, as she saw her mother walk into the green portal. Every other agent except for Marquis went into the portal too. After a few moments, the portal shrunk until there was no trace of it left. Peach prayed to the Starmen for the safety of her mother.

After doing so, she was curious to know why Marquis stayed.

"Mr. Merit, are you staying here?" Peach asked.

"Yes," Marquis replied, "I just thought that I might want to stick around for a moment."

"Oh, it's okay. There are guards here to protect the castle and me."

"Ah yes, I realize that very well, Princess. But I felt that I should stay here."

"Did you ask the Head if you could stay?"

"Yep. He was fine with it."

"Great! So… what do you want to do now?"

"Hmm… not much actually. In fact, I was planning to take a short nap in your castle's guest room, if of course you are okay with it."

"Sure! You can go right ahead. I'll be in my bedroom."

"Thank you Princess! You don't know how tired I am. I've been working early in the morning. Oh, please, do wake me up if something happens though, okay?"

"All right. Happy napping!"

"Thanks. See you later," Marquis said finally, as he walked into the corridors to get into the guest room.

Peach noticed something very important about Marquis: he had been looking at her for sometime while Mr. Vlad was explaining about the Zetroidian situation. She also felt a unique feeling being around Marquis, as if Marquis was somehow related to her. What was this feeling? Was there something vital about Marquis that she did not know? She could not worry too much; she was still worried about her mother's safety. She hoped that everything would be fine.


	11. Treaty Results

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

The Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach, and Koopas, Bowser, Koopa Empire, and Toadsworth (C) Nintendo.  
Ross Thomas, Hans Alfons, Erick Adrian, Mike Arnold, Kent Arnold, Strawberry Toadstool, Toadstine, Alexander Thomas, Joseph Reed, Bonifaz Albrecht, Sir Victor Anisim Vlad, Toadstorx, Toad, Henry Edwin, Marquis Merit, Hakiahd (Head) Keft Gholt, the Mushroom Kingdom Secret Service, Yetroid, Uraki Xi, Uraki Hingh, Zetropolis, Zetroid, the Zetroidian language, and the Gnylian lanugage (C) me.

_Notice: Some of the content in chapter is in Zetroidian. And the Gnylian language is English._

_Caution: Chapter contians minor profanity and minor suggestive themes._

**Treaty Results**

Back by the mountains of the Southern Mushroom Kingdom, a green portal appeared by the entrance into the Secret Service Headquarters. Out the portal came Mr. Vlad, Strawberry, and the others. This was the first time the Queen and Prime Minister were able to enter the Headquarters of the Secret Service. Making it to the metal door with the password keypad, Mr. Vlad typed a complicated password of numbers. Then the keypad said,

"_Access accepted. Dobro pozhadovate Victor Vlad y soyuzniki."_

Strawberry and Mr. Edwin were very awestricken by the keypad talking in another language. What was this language? It was then when Alex turned to Strawberry.

"Oh, don't worry. Every time the boss types on that keypad, it speaks that odd language that Joseph and I still don't know about," Alex whispered in Strawberry's ear, "All I know though is that it's saying _'Welcome Victor Vlad and allies'_."

"Oh, I see," Strawberry whispered back, "Thank you for that information."

"Anytime."

As the people entered the facility, Strawberry and Edwin became more and more amazed by the high-tech environment of the Headquarters. They never thought that such an environment was possible. The scanners ahead were just the beginning. Once the people arrived to the main room, Strawberry and Edwin were so freaked out that they had to force themselves to be under control to avoid giving a bad impression.

It was something they have never seen before. There were two cylindrical glass elevators in the back, many passageways all around, sleek elegant LCD screens, and a whole bunch of agents everywhere. Strawberry never had the idea of how many agents work for her in secret!

"Oh, by the way," Mr. Vlad started coolly to Strawberry and Edwin, "if you would like to keep the secrecy of the Service, you are recommended not to tell any individual about us. Do you comprehend?"

"Yes, Sir Vlad," Strawberry and Edwin said simultaneously.

"Excellent," said Mr. Vlad.

Strawberry and Edwin looked around in amazement as they followed Mr. Vlad and the others to Mr. Vlad's office. The place was so high-tech that they never imagined such technology existed in the Mushroom Kingdom. They did not ever bother asking how the Service got all this new technology.

After arriving at Mr. Vlad's office, Strawberry and Edwin ended up meeting Mr. Albrecht. Mr. Albrecht greeted them with respect.

"Oh, good day Head," Mr. Albrecht said to Mr. Vlad, "Ah, I see you brought the Prime Minister and Her Royal Highness. It is quite a pleasure to meet the both of you. My name is Bonifaz Albrecht."

"Well it's nice to meet you too, Mr. Albrecht," said Strawberry, shaking his hand.

The Prime Minister shook hands with Mr. Albrecht and said, "It is also a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Mr. Albrecht, call the militia office to get five elite guards. We are going to Zetroid," said Mr. Vlad.

"Zetroid?" asked Mr. Albrecht, "So we have decided to negotiate?"

"Yes."

With that, Mr. Albrecht went to his office to call the militia office. Meanwhile, Mr. Vlad explained to Edwin, Strawberry, Alex, and Joe on the plan to rescue the five men. They were in Mr. Vlad's office.

"All right, here's the plan. First, we will contact the Foreign Diplomacy Office in Zetropolis and tell them that I wish to contact the Zetroidian Dictator. Oh, and just for your information, the Dictator's title is _Hakiahd_, which is Zetroidian for 'Head'.

"Then, we will access Zetroid via a Transporter Gate. There are two types of transporters: portable-transporters and transporter gates. Portable-transporters are remote-like devices like the one you saw Toadstorx holding. A Transporter Gate is different. It is rather a doorway that reveals a vortex, which you use to get to other transporter gates in Zetroid."

"So we are going through those so called 'transporter gates'," Mr. Edwin asked.

"Precisely," said Mr. Vlad calmly, "Once in Zetroid, we will meet the Dictator in his office and start negotiations. Do not worry; I will be of assistance while we negotiate. The reason I plan to bring you two"­­­­­­­ — he looked at Strawberry and Edwin — "is that I heard you two had good negotiation skills. I felt that we would need as much help with this as possible."

"I see," said Strawberry, "So who is going to contact Zetroid's Diplomacy Office?"

"I guess Mr. Albrecht will take care of that," replied Mr. Vlad, "Now all we have to do is to wait patiently."

And so they waited. Strawberry prayed for the safety of the five men while they negotiated.

Meanwhile in Zetroid, the Zetroidian Dictator, Mr. Gholt, was relaxing in his luxurious office with two alluring women. The office was about the size of a throne room and was much of a dark purple environment. On one side was a big mechanical door that was the entrance and on the opposite side was a wall composed of ten flat commercial-office-styled windows. Outside was a purple, stormy atmosphere, so the office was rather a dark purple in color. On the two other walls adjacent to the office windows were murals that the Dictator wanted on his walls. The murals depicted large Zetroidian cities like Uraki Hingh and Uraki Xi and all over were attractive Zetroidian women.

In the center of the office was a soft comfortable black couch, which was seated by the Dictator and the two ladies. A few feet behind the couch was the Dictator's desk, but it seemed that he was apparently too busy with his ladies to work at his desk. He was talking soothingly to them, as if to arouse them. One of them was even about to unbutton his suit, when a herald suddenly came in with news.

"_Hakiahd, Hakiahd!"_ the herald called while the mechanical door slammed open, "I have horrible news for you!"

Apparently, the herald was speaking Gnylian. One might presume that Gnylian and Zetroidian were equally used languages in Zetroid.

"What the hell Mr. Tysi!!" Mr. Gholt yelled to the herald, "Don't you see that I'm too busy with other matters to be concerned about any damn news!?"

"But sir, this is important! It's about Victor Vlad!"

At this point, Mr. Gholt was shocked by merely hearing the name Victor Vlad.

"GODDAMN IT! Victor Vlad!!," Mr. Gholt exclaimed, "What the hell does that Mushroomer-wannabe want this time!?"

"Sir," Tysi said, "One of Vlad's people called our Diplomacy office just a while ago for permission for Vlad to meet you."

"And did he reject the permission?"

"Unfortunately not, sir,"

"WHAT!?" Mr. Gholt growled, "Just what the damn hell do you mean by that?"

Tysi flinched to the Dictator's harsh talk.

"Well see sir," Tysi continued hesitantly, "the employee who got the call said that the caller seemed really serious and the employee admitted to fearing the possibility of the ignition of Vlad's wrath."

"Well that employee better know _my_ wrath before knowing Vlad's. I want that employee executed _immediately_!"

"Yes sir. But what are we to do about Vlad?"

There was a mild pause.

"Well, I guess we're going to have to let that moron in."

And with that, the one named Tysi left the room. The ladies besides Mr. Gholt looked very concerned while he looked disappointed.

"I'm sorry about all this bullcrap that has been happening," Mr. Gholt said to the ladies in a disappointed tone, "You'll have to go now."

"Wait a minute," said one of the ladies, "Who the hell is Vlad?"

"Vlad works for the Mushroom Kingdom," said Mr. Gholt.

The two ladies flinched hearing 'Mushroom Kingdom'.

"Well here's what I think," said the other lady, taking out a Zetroidian-quality pistol, "I think we should kill that poor fool when he comes in."

There was another pause. Mr. Gholt just realized that the ladies did not know Mr. Vlad's true potential.

"Well see baby," Mr. Gholt explained, "There is something mysterious and dangerous about Vlad. We shouldn't mess with him. The moment you look into his eyes, you'll feel like you are lost in his terrible world. If you did shoot him — which I wished happened — his death would cause a world war. Seriously, that damn man has some connection with the whole world or something. You two should go home now, trust me."

"No sweetie," one of the ladies insisted, "We would like to see this Victor Vlad, just this once."

Apparently, Mr. Gholt could not resist the requests of any attractive lady.

"Oh fine," said Mr. Gholt, "Just for this once though. Now you two won't talk through the whole meeting. Okay?"

"All right," said the ladies.

"Good. Now we will have to wait,"

"Mr. Vlad, they accepted you visit."

"Good, Bonifaz. Go get the elite guards and other agents to the transporter gate. I need to have a word with Mrs. Toadstool and Mr. Edwin."

"Yes Head."

And with that, Mr. Albrecht left to a part of the facility called the portal room. Meanwhile, Mr. Vlad, Strawberry and Edwin stayed in Mr. Vlad's office.

"I need to have one last word with you two before we leave to Zetroid," Mr. Vlad said to Strawberry and Edwin, "You must — I repeat — you must be extremely careful about what you say or what you do when we get there. Any bit of intimidation given to a Zetroidian can cause a crucial war. Understand?"

"We understand," said Strawberry, "Right, Prime Minister?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Mr. Edwin replied.

"Excellent," said Mr. Vlad, "We shall go to the portal room now."

A few minutes later, everyone that was assigned to go with Mr. Vlad to Zetroid was in the portal room. It was a fairly medium sized room with white walls and bright lighting. On the wall that was opposite of the room's entrance was a metallic entranceway that resembled security-gates at airports. This was the transporter gate.

Strawberry looked around to see a fair amount of people in the room. There were the few elite guards, several minor guards, and several agents she did not meet yet. And of course, there was her, the Prime Minister, Alex, Joe, Mr. Albrecht, Toadstorx, and Mr. Vlad. Strawberry saw one of the minor guards type something on a security keypad that was right besides the transporter gate. After he did, the transporter gate opened and revealed a dark purple vortex spinning in the transporter gate.

Strawberry did not know what to expect; she was nervous about entering a spinning vortex that would take her to a world darker than even Koopaland. She prayed to the Stars for the safety of her, the five men, and the people coming to Zetroid with her.

It did not seem long until everyone started to walk into the vortex. Once in, they faced a moment of seeing nothing but swirl black and purple all around them until entering the portal room in Zetroid's administration building, where the heart of the Zetroidian government was. A minor guard told Strawberry that they were in Zetropolis, Zetroid. Every place Strawberry saw was dark and dull. She never imagined such a colorless world. She did not even feel she was on her own planet, but there she was, on the other side of the world! Strawberry was surrounded by the guards, and she knew why. Every time she saw Zetroidians in the building, they would give her a cold and dark stare. It gave chills to Strawberry, but she tried to ignore the stares while they went to the Dictator's office.

After going through several hallways, they make it to a large door, which signified the entrance to Mr. Gholt's office. Mr. Albrecht opened the door allowing everyone in the room. Mr. Gholt and ladies next to him were stunned by the sudden entrance; they did not expect Mr. Vlad to come so quickly. The ladies looked viciously at Mr. Vlad, and apparently for some reason at Strawberry.

"Arg, it's you, Victor Vlad. What do you want?" Mr. Gholt questioned harshly.

Mr. Gholt looked at the other people who came. He was staring very suspiciously at Strawberry. She turned shyly, avoiding Mr. Gholt's stare.

"Well? What do you want Vlad?"

"I have arrived with other important figures to discuss about those five men, Keft Gholt," said Mr. Vlad coolly.

"You mean those five stupid men who snuck into my nation? Well, who cares about them!?"

"We do," said Mr. Vlad, "'We' meaning the Queen" — Strawberry curtsied, but Keft Gholt looked very unpleased by such formal behavior — "the Prime Minister" — Edwin saw Keft Gholt's unhappy expression and did not even bother bowing — "some citizens and personnel, and of course, me."

"Oh, really?" said Keft Gholt unenthusiastically, "Won't want to disappoint you, Vlad, but those five men are going to be executed tomorrow."

"You don't say? Well, would you think it would be possible to get those five men back to us?" Mr. Vlad questioned in a slightly explicit tone.

The ladies besides Keft Gholt flinched at Mr. Vlad's voice, but Mr. Vlad was fully focused on Gholt. Keft Gholt could do nothing but argue at that moment.

"Listen, why do you want them so much? They're not really that important to your pathetic kingdom, or I should say 'invisible dictatorship'."

Strawberry was outraged by Keft Gholt's words.

"_Just what the devil did Gholt mean by 'invisible dictatorship' and pathetic kingdom!?"_ Strawberry thought.

But before Strawberry could argue about what Gholt just said, Mr. Vlad held up his hand, indicating silence. Keft Gholt just noticed Strawberry's infuriated expression.

"Let me remind you, Keft Gholt, that you have already claimed the Mushroom Kingdom to be a dictatorship, and I have already reminded you that it was not. Your attempt to aggravate us has failed," said Mr. Vlad, in his same cool expression as always.

Keft Gholt looked disappointed; it seemed he wanted to anger Strawberry on purpose, but he failed that little attempt.

"Now about the five men," Mr. Vlad continued, "We have verified that they are innocent and have no involvement in malicious activity, like – let's say – 'spying', as it was claimed they did. That should be more than enough to consider giving them back to us."

Keft Gholt was shocked. He had to find a way out of being intimidated by Vlad's word and prevent Vlad from getting in the way of what he did.

"Oh yeah? Well let's see some proof for that then, huh Victor Vlad? You think _you're_ so smart? Let's see what you can prove!" Keft Gholt exclaimed.

With an unimpressed look on his face, Mr. Vlad pulled out two file folders from his briefcase he brought with him. It seemed that the proof was in the two files and Gholt's talk did not make Mr. Vlad intimidated a bit.

"While we prepared to come here and talk about the five men, I called the Census and Condition Office in Mushroom City to send me a copy of the occupation files for each of the five men. They are all apparently ordinary middle class men with no special jobs that deal with government work. The second folder contains a list of spies who work for the Secret Service. The list only shows the spies' codenames, but the list is in the alphabetic order of their real names. I even highlighted the places where the five men could have been in the list if they were spies. But as you will see, they are not."

Mr. Vlad passed the files to Mr. Gholt. He read through for about five minutes with a defeated look in his face. At this point, Gholt would have to give back the five men, yet he still disputed.

"Well, I'm not going to give those five men back easily!" Gholt growled.

Strawberry calmed down from the stressful meeting and said tranquilly, "Well would you return the men if we paid you release money? All you do is simply give us our five men and we will return the favor with some money."

Keft Gholt was staring at Strawberry in an unusual way. He looked more focused at her body than her words. Mr. Vlad noticed this.

"Ahem, Mr. Gholt, it seems you were not listening the first time," said Mr. Vlad.

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah… What were you saying?" said Keft Gholt.

Strawberry was offended by Gholt's behavior; she even wondered how many Zetroidians were like this. At this rate, she was extremely disturbed.

"She proposed giving release money so that we could have those five men back," said Vlad in a serious tone.

"Oh, I see," said Keft Gholt, "Well, I guess we will have to negotiate then. Very well…"

It seemed hours since Peach waited for her mother's return. It was very late at the moment; she could see a sliver of the sun disappear in the horizon through a window. She looked at a clock, which read 8:48; it was twelve minutes until Peach's normal bedtime. She felt she might not sleep on her normal bedtime, but that did not really matter to her; she was only worried about her mother and the five men.

Peach was in the living room with Marquis; they were playing cards. For a child with little experience, Peach was not bad at all; she won five out of twelve games. Marquis insisted that her mother and the others would be safe, but sometimes Peach would be in doubt. In other times, she would be as optimistic as possible. She feared she would have a bad day; she just did not know what to expect next.

"Um, Mr. Merit… Will my Mother and the others return safely?" Peach asked while playing the thirteenth card match with Marquis.

"Oh dear… Princess, you asked that seventeen times. Of course they will return safely; don't worry," said Marquis.

"Seventeen time? You counted?"

"Yep. As I said earlier, there is nothing to worry about. They got Mr. Vlad. Trust me; Mr. Vlad always ends up winning. There is no stopping him. Not even the Zetroidian Dictator can really do much to him. But of course, the Dictator is quite persistent. But I can honestly say that there will be no problems."

"I hope so, Mr. Merit. It's just something like this has never happened before. This is new to me."

"I understand, Princess."

But suddenly, Marquis and Peach heard a ring. Marquis took out what seemed to look like a silver phone from his pocket. Peach had never seen a phone so small and slick. Peach watched nervously as Marquis was talking. She heard words like _'negotiations'_, _'Zetroid'_, and _'five men'_. She was now more worried than ever. She feared that something happened to her mother and the others.

"…really?" Marquis was saying, "I see. Well I guess I will have to spread the news then. Hmmm… Okay. Later."

Marquis hangs up. Peach did not detect any significant tone in Marquis's call; that made her even more nervous because she did not know if it was good or bad news.

"Um, Mr. Merit… What happened?" Peach asked anxiously.

"I got some news from Agent Joseph Reed," said Marquis.

"Mr. Reed? Was he that one bald gentleman?"

"Yep, that was Reed. He said that…"

"That what?"

Peach could feel the suspense behind the whole situation. She just wanted it to be over soon.

"…that the negotiations were a great success! Isn't that grand, Princess?"

Peach was shocked with excitement. Her worried expression immediately turned to a jolly, satisfied one.

"Really!? Wow, that's fantastic, Mr. Merit! I can't believe it's finally over! I feel so relieved," Peach said gleefully.

"Yep, it's over. They said they would come back soon."

"Wonderful! We should celebrate!"

Peach was dancing for joy, spinning like a ballerina.

"Wow Princess… You're really good at dancing, aren't you?"

"Absolutely! I take youth ballet lessons. Maybe we should wait quietly; we wouldn't want to be too excited now."

"Sure. They will bring the five men back too."

"That's great."

After what felt like hours, the same green portal that appeared in the middle of throne room appeared again. When Marquis heard the sound that the portal made, he told Peach to come with him to the throne room. Once they arrived, they saw Strawberry, Mr. Vlad, and the others come out of the portal. The only people who did not return were Alex, Joe, and some of the guards. Peach was glad to see her mother again, and her mother did not looked harmed at all. Peach thanked the Stars for that.

"Mother! Are you all right? Has everything gone well?" Peach asked.

Strawberry approached her daughter and hugged her.

"You must have been very worried dear. Don't worry; it's all over. See. The five men who were taken hostage by Zetroid are now back."

Ross and his friends arrived with the same startled faces as they had when they were suddenly let free from execution.

"I am still amazed by the fact we were saved," said Hans in awe.

"I know," said Ross, "It seemed to be a miracle."

Mr. Vlad came up to the Queen and the Prime Minister. He shook both their hands.

"It has been a pleasure working with the both of you," said Mr. Vlad, "Without your help, we might not have solved this issue as easily. We could have easily been dragged into a war with Zetroid's ignorance. Good day to you all."

"It has been a pleasure to work with you too, Mr. Vlad. I mean, _you've_ done most of the work, sir. We would like to thank you very much," Strawberry said happily.

"I appreciate your comments, Queen Toadstool. Now we must depart. Farewell for now."

And with that, Mr. Vlad, Toadstorx, Marquis, Mr. Albrecht, and the rest of the Secret Service guards proceed to the portal. But before Marquis left, he said his farewells to the Queen, Prime Minister, and especially the Princess.

"It's been really nice to know you, Princess Peach. Good-bye for now! We might meet again for all we know," said Marquis.

"Good-bye, Mr. Merit! It was wonderful to meet you too," said Peach, waving.

Once the portal closed, all the Secret Service people were gone. The only people who remained were Strawberry, Peach, Edwin, and the five men. All the five men bowed to the Queen in thanks.

"Your Highness… we give you much thanks for rescuing us from being hostages in Zetroid," said Ross thankfully.

"Yes, without you, we would have been goners. Thank you," said Hans.

"Well I am quite flattered," said Strawberry in a formal tone, "You men were quite lucky to get out of such a situation; it would have been such a fatal doom if you were kept as hostages. Now please realize that I should not be given all the credit for resolving this situation. Our Prime Minister and especially Mr. Victor Vlad should also be thanked for the resolving this issue."

"I just have one question; I'm really curious to know: who is Mr. Vlad?" Erick asked politely.

"Well, you can say that Mr. Vlad is a government official, except he only reports and runs errands on the most dire of situations, like distant international involvement," Strawberry explained, "Now I want all of you to remember one thing: please do not ever travel too far from our nation. We have good reasons not to let people travel to very distant lands. Many might end up how you men have ended up, but we must thank the Stars for your safe return. See, the truth is that many nations on this planet are very isolated, mainly because almost every nation has most the resources they need to be a successful nation despite all the differences, thus reducing trading and international activity to an occasional event that does not affect the economy much.

"And from the lack of interaction between nations, some nations, like Zetroid for example, become really isolated and even restrictive, thinking that they are the best on the planet. The truth is — well at least for most of us — there is no 'best nation'. The reason for the Zetroidians taking you men hostage was that they did not want foreigners in their nation, considering the fact that Zetroidians think that they are the best. Since we are not Zetroidians, that instantly makes them think we are inferior to them. And they do not want those who are considered 'inferior' in their nation. So I think it is best that you men do not ever travel too far from out part of the world, all right?"

"We understand, Your Highness," said Ross, "We will be much careful about where to go and how far to travel next time."

"I am glad that you understand," said Strawberry, "Now I perfectly understand that you guys just wanted to explore; there is nothing wrong with that. But please, be warned that other nations do not share the same view as we do. But I know that you guys will be careful."

"Defiantly," said Ross, "We will keep all of this in mind. Thank you very much, Your Highness."

"Oh, no need for thanks, it is my job to protect my people. But of course, I could not have done this by myself. Now you guys must be exhausted from this long day, right? Oh, by the way, how long did it take for you to arrive at Zetroid while on your travels?" Strawberry asked.

"I think a little over a month," said Ross.

"Oh, wow, that's quite a long time. I still cannot imagine how big and diverse this planet is," said Strawberry, a little astonished, "Well, I wish you men happy times, and good night. Oh darn, look at the time." — Strawberry glanced at the clock, which said 9:23 — "We better get you guys home! Oh, and one more thing: please do not tell anyone about this, you must keep this secret, understand? I wish for no more problems dealing with this issue."

"We understand, Your Highness. Don't worry; we won't tell a single soul about this," said Hans.

"Good," said Strawberry finally, "Now you guys will follow the Prime Minister; he shall depart you guys home."

The Prime Minister was listening to the whole discussion the entire time.

"Well then guys, we shall go to our homes. Follow me," said Mr. Edwin.

The five men were relieved to be home again after a very long time. They said their farewells to Strawberry and Peach and followed the Prime Minister out the castle to be taken home.

Peach was tired from the tension she faced all day. She was glad it was all over.

"What a day!" Peach said in exhaustion, "Well, I'm glad that you are safe, Mother. And of course, I'm glad that those five citizens are safe too."

"Indeed," said Strawberry, "I feel that there are so many questions to be answered, though. For one thing, why are Zetroidians so bad in the first place? When I was there, I didn't feel safe a single bit, regardless of all the guards from our side who practically surrounded me. And I also think there is something horrible about their dictator, Mr. Keft Gholt."

"Really, Mother?"

"Yes, just by looking at him, one can tell that he is a really bad person. It's a little hard to explain, dear, don't worry about it; it's all over now."

"Was there a treaty of some sort?"

"Yes, actually. There were many things involved with this treaty. It's called the 5-Men Treaty and it basically prevents Mushroomers to enter Zetroid. If any Mushroomers do, they will have to pay a fine and be relocated to Zetroid's neighbor, Yetroid. From what I have heard, Yetroid is a very peaceful place. But anyway, we as the government will also have to pay the Zetroidian government a large fine for the release of those five men."

"How much is this fine?"

"Very expensive; about eight million Mushroom Coins."

"Eight million!?"

Peach was shocked by the tremendous fee.

"Eight million just to release five men?! That's unbelievable!" said Peach, startled.

"I know, I know. But we had no other choice. It took us a while to determine the fee, but we are going to have to pay it. Don't worry, we won't have to pay all of this all at one," said Strawberry.

"It's still unbelievable. Can we handle this?"

"Why of course dear! Don't worry; we have a lot of money at hand. Just relax; I will handle this."

Strawberry glanced at the clock again.

"Oh, look at the time. It's about half an hour past you bedtime! You should get some sleep, dear."

"Oh yes, I should! Good night, Mother!"

"Good night, Peach."

Peach hugged her mother. Once Strawberry gave her a good night kiss, Peach starts to proceed to her bedroom.

Strawberry was also exhausted from the long day. She still remembered the disturbing feeling when she was explaining about a possible release fee and Keft Gholt was just staring at her. She remembered him making a face of interest. What did that mean? It was just too disturbing for her. She took a deep sigh and forgot about the whole ordeal. She needed rest, so she proceeded to her bedroom for relax for the night.

It has been about a month since the release of the five Mushroomer citizens. Peach had been quite well for weeks after the situation; it seemed she almost forgot about it. It also seemed that the Toadish people did not know anything about that situation. As for Peach's vampire life, she noticed something different: that her thirst was not as frequent as she thought it would be. When she thought she would have to feed once a week, she ended up feasting once a month. She did not have an absolute explanation for this. Maybe vampire children did not need to feed on blood as frequently as adults did. Of course, she was not completely sure.

Peach was passing her time in the living room, when all a sudden a Toadish came to report something.

"Princess… Something important happened just now. You should be in the throne room," he said.

"Okay," said Peach.

So she followed him to the throne room. She saw Toadsworth exhausted with a bunch of other Toadish people and the Prime Minister. Strawberry was sitting on her throne listing to Toadsworth's report.

"…just had terrible news," he was saying, "It seems that after all of our hard work, King Bowser decided on rejecting our negotiation treaty!"

"What!?"

Strawberry and the other were shocked. Peach could not believe her ears; Bowser refused the treaty? Why did he? This was indeed very disappointing news.

"But– but, I thought… why did he reject the treaty?" Strawberry questioned.

"It seems that the Koopa King didn't like much of the policies displayed on the treaty," said Toadsworth.

"Are you serious?" exclaimed Mr. Edwin, "If he did accept, he would have gotten more land for goodness sake!"

"I don't know what his motive was for rejecting this," said Toadsworth, "I think we should be very careful about the Koopas now."

"Defiantly! More than ever," said Strawberry worryingly, "I fear we have no other choice but to strengthen security along the Koopa border. If we don't, they might invade us."

"Yes, you are very right, Your Highness. I will call Toadstine now to discuss about this," said Toadsworth.

"Excellent," said Strawberry.

With that, Toadsworth went to get the telephone to call Toadstine. Meanwhile, Peach was having feelings of worriment and terror. She had wished that King Bowser would accept the treaty. All Peach could do for now was to wait and hope for a good outcome.


	12. A New Rebel

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Xeon Tricocci, Nater Ezta, Keft Gholt, and Zetroid (C) me.

_Caution: Chapter contians violence and intense suffering._

**A New Rebel**

In the depths of a poor residential district in Uraki Hingh, a city in Zetroid, there was a tall stricken man walking slowly in the alleys. The alleys were quiet and a little open. Even though the residential area was distant from the hustle and bustle of Uraki Hingh's downtown district, which was even bigger than Zetropolis's, the buildings in the residential district were still quite large. It was a dull olive-brown morning.

The man wore a jet-black poplin trench coat, which was full-length, and he also wore black stylish shades. Inside the trench coat, he wore a black industrial shirt made with ballistic nylon. Many of the pockets in his trench coat held shotguns, pistols, and magnums. The inside of his trench coat was practically several holsters. There was a techno-themed emblem on his coat with 'XT' inscribed on it.

The man, being called 'XT' for now, was tired from what seemed to be much fighting. He had some scars on his left arm and a few bullet-holes through various parts of his body. He had black hair, which stood in a spiky hairstyle. His nose was large and round. In almost an instant, the bullet-holes on him suddenly healed, as if he regenerated. The man was panting slowly, thinking of what had just happened.

All his life he felt neglected by almost everyone. The only people he felt safe with were his parents, older brother and younger sister. He never realized until recently why almost everyone was against him and his family.

XT's father died when XT was a young child, so he did not really remember much about him. But he did remember his mother, brother, and sister.

XT's brother was a wise, discipline person. He was slightly shorter than XT was and also had a large nose just like him. XT remembered how his brother would protect the family from the harassment of Zetroidian neighbors. He also remembered how his brother would complain about the so-called 'vampires'. XT always told his brother that vampires did not exist, but his brother would not listen. XT was the only family member who knew that his brother ran a secret gang that killed the so-called vampires in the streets. He did not want any problems in his family, so he kept his brother's rather aggressive and gang-like identity a secret.

The mother of XT was a very beautiful woman. But unlike the typical Zetroidian, she did not want to express and unveil her beauty. It was merely because of this that the Zetroidian people neglected and disrespected her. The other reason she was disrespected was that they claimed that she married 'a piece of filth'. For XT, that would refer to his father. Why did the Zetroidian people call XT's father a piece of filth? It was uncertain at the time he found out about it.

The sister of XT was also beautiful just like the mother. She followed her mother's footsteps and also refused to express her beauty in the typical way the Zetroidians did. One time, XT's mother told his sister how pure and sweet she was, just like the father. It was too bad that the sister did not remember her father very well. XT remembered one time when his sister went to a slummy section of the residential area to buy groceries. When the sister was proceeding home, she was suddenly trampled by street people who started to beat her up with heavy fists. XT and his brother saw this and broke up the crowd to save their sister. Ever since that day, the sister's left arm was completely immobile.

XT could not understand why life was so miserable for him. What had his family done wrong to the Zetroidians? This was a vital question since XT was Zetroidian himself. Or was he?

The man looked back to his memories. A few months after the assault of her sister, the man's brother suddenly disappeared. XT, his sister, and his mother were worried about the brother. Was he killed by the Zetroidians? They tried to find out until a month later when XT found a letter written by the brother in the brother's bedroom. After reading the letter, XT and the rest of the family found out that the brother left them. The reason was that the brother did not like the living conditions of Zetroid and left to a place that would give him a better living.

This disappointed the family very much, especially XT. Why would his brother suddenly leave everyone behind? No one in the family liked the living conditions of Zetroid either, but it almost seemed as if the brother ditched the family. This was indeed saddening news. From that point on, XT disrespected his brother and considered him dead.

The memory of his brother leaving his family left XT very dismal to this day. But unfortunately, this was not the worst memory the man had. It got worse, much worse.

XT remembered about the horrible incident that occurred about two years after his brother left.

It was dark and gloomy day as always. XT woke up from his sleep and found that his sister and mother were missing. Where might have they went? He became a little worried. He ate breakfast and then opened the only television the family had. The television was Zetroidian-style, but since the family was poor, the television was a very old model from several decades ago. Fortunately for XT though, the television worked fine. He turned to the only news channel in the nation. It was then when the man found out where his mother and sister were.

The news was showing XT's own mother and sister tied up at the base of the pole at the center of the Zetropolis Central Plaza! Their clothes were torn so much that parts of their body were revealed which they would never reveal before. This outraged XT. What was happening? Who did this to them? XT saw a bunch of people gathering around the pole, who were hooting at the tied-up women. Then the Dictator himself arrived by the pole, a vile smile on his face. He looked at the women with interest. Keft Gholt spoke in Zetroidian. XT understood everything he said. The Dictator was going to burn XT's mother and daughter alive for the mere fact that they did not participate in Zetroidian popular culture. This angered XT even more. The Dictator also said that the mother married a Mushroomer and had half-Mushroomer kids. This struck a curious question to XT: who or what were Mushroomers? XT remembered how people insulted the father and called him filth. Was it because the father was a Mushroomer? Was XT himself half-Mushroomer? He could not take it anymore.

Before he could bear anymore suffering, he saw the Dictator with a stylish, metal torch and threw it at the mother and daughter. The fire engulfed them quickly, while they shrieked to death. At this point, XT had tears rolling down his face. How dare they kill his family! Did it matter if his family was partially originated from the so-called Mushroomers?

Now XT was the only one left. But the suffering never ended for him. It almost seemed if the entire nation was stalking him and his family, well that is if he had a family left. The only other member left was his brother, but remembering how the brother left behind his family was not worth the actual effort of finding him. XT was now by himself. He then looked back at the event that would change his life forever; an event that occurred five years after his mother and sister were cremated alive.

XT was in the run-down shack in the depth of the city. There many shacks like this in the alleys between enormous buildings. The shack that he was in was the same one he was living in for most of his life. Ever since the cremation, he was training himself to be a fighter and an expert gunman. He had stolen guns from street guards and various people before. This most likely made him a wanted man, well at least in the local area.

XT was experimenting with one of his guns when all a sudden, a bunch of Zetroidian troopers busted into the shack. This was so sudden that he had no time to react, thus making him vulnerable. The troopers knocked him out and took him away.

He did not remember much about the incident. The only thing he remembered was harsh pain from what seemed to be cruel experiments being funded by the Zetroidian government. The government always tortured some of the more impoverish citizens of Zetroid like this. It was horrible. XT remembered lights, rays, saws, and all sort of experimental tools. He did not know what the experimenters were doing. All he knew was that he had to escape.

During one of the experimentations, he felt confidence and a boost of energy. He suddenly leaped off the experimentation platform and made a swooping kick, which knocked out all the experimenters unconscious. Following that move was a loud alarm that was exclusive in the Zetroidian region with purple flashing lights. XT ran through various hallways of what he discovered to be part of a secret laboratory. He saw a guard approaching him from behind. XT did a leap kick to the neck of the guard and stole his guns, since XT had none with him during the cruel experiments. The guard was loaded; he had full ammunition for a double shotgun with a miniature missile-launcher, a magnum, a pistol, and a pistol-sized gun that shot in rapid-fire speed.

Carrying all of these things in the coat that he also stole from the guard, XT ran into another hallway and found an army of security guards and soldiers there. He saw one of the people in the army with a Sergeant's Emblem. This person had brown hair and slightly transparent shades. The emblem on the person's shirt said Nater Ezta.

Ezta barked something in Zetroidian, telling XT that the army was going to strike him. XT took out his new guns and fought off the troopers. He would run to several sectors of the facility and fight various people. Taking out a few people at a time was his strategy; he did not feel too sure about fighting many people at once yet. At this point, XT hated everyone, so he killed scientists as well. While fighting and killing his foes, XT would take their weapons in the process and when he was alone, he would refill his ammunition and fight his way through to find an exit of any sort; he just wanted to get out of the facility.

In one of the empty hallways, XT started to run to the other end. While he was running, he realized just how fast he was going. He just went on faster and faster down the long hallway at incredible speeds! This sort of made the hallway shorter than it seemed. There was a trooper running towards XT and tried to shoot him. But XT ran so fast that he rammed the trooper aside, killing the trooper rather quickly! The man was amazed at this speed. He did not know he could run so fast! Knowing his sudden newfound power, he ran tirelessly through several hallways, shooting troopers with deadly accuracy. XT felt more confident than ever.

He went into a large storage room to look for more supplies that he could use against the troopers The storage room was filled with metal crates practically everywhere, but there were gaps between groups of the crates like 'alleys'. It was then when a sniper troop from the Zetroidian Elites shot the man in the chest. XT shrieked in pain. He suddenly feared his death would come soon. He knelled on the floor, seeing his blood seeping out of his chest. It was then when he saw the bullet wound heal almost instantly, as if he had regeneration-like capabilities! The pain faded away rather quickly. Now he was shocked; how was he able to do all these amazing things? While fighting in the hallways earlier, he discovered the ability to jump high.

XT wondered if the cruel and painful experiments had something to do with this. he now felt unstoppable; he made a crooked smile thinking about it. He found the sniper troop hiding behind the metal crates and shot him with deadly accuracy. XT looked with pity at the dead sniper troop. Then XT looked at the reflection on the metal crate that was nearby. He saw his changed face and body; there were some scars on his arms and cheeks. The creepiest change was that there was no left eye on his face. Instead, there were a few organic cords running through his left eye socket; the entire area was bare and red. XT saw a stylish pair of shades besides the dead sniper troop. XT took them for himself to cover the horrid modification on his eye. Looking at his new look via his reflection, he felt that he was complete. He made another crooked smile and ran off to what seemed to be an emergency exit of the facility.

At last, he was free from the clutches of the horrible Zetroidian government. He knew he was a very wanted man now, but he was proud of it. He suspected that the experiments caused beneficial modifications to his body. Now his abilities were extraordinary and he considered himself a mutant.

It had been five years since that odd incident. Now XT was proud of being considered a 'radical, terrorist, and murderer.' He looked up at the olive-brown sky of the gloomy area. He now wanted revenge, revenge on everyone. He had no family and no friends; just himself and his terrifying abilities were enough for him. He vowed in his vile tone to take revenge.

"I shall take revenge for my mother and sister," he said to himself, "Or my name isn't Xeon Tricocci!"


	13. The Struggle of Two Brothers

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Koopas, Koopa Empire, Mushroom Kingdom, Mushroom City, and Kamak (C) Nintendo.

Mario and Luigi's last name _Tricocci_, Cousin Lombardo Tricocci II, Lombardo Tricocci I, Merriam Tricocci, Alessa, Graziana, Bologna the province, Bolognans, and the Bolognan Language (C) me.

_Notice: Some of this chapter is in Bolognan, which is really Italian._

**The Struggle of Two Brothers**

It has been about a few months following King Bowser's rejection of Strawberry's negotiation treaty. This would lead to some new problems for a long while, though people might not know it.

It was morning at King Bowser's fortress and Bowser just woke up from a bad dream. Bowser looked at the calendar, which said June 20, 1984, then looked at the clock, which said 7:39 A.M., which was usually very early for the Koopa King to be awake. It was dark outside when he looked out his window; there was thunder and lightning as always. Bowser's eyes were bloodshot, indication that the nightmare he had must have been serious. Being furious about this dream, Bowser called a Koopa servant over to his room. The servant, just like most of Bowser's minions feared their leader to some extent or more.

"Yes, Your Royal Majesty?" the servant said a little nervously.

"Send Kamak here, this instant!" Bowser commanded.

"Yes, Sir," the servant said, flinching.

The servant left quickly and another figure came in soon after. This figure was also a Koopa, but he was dressed in a blue wizard's suit, a pointy wizard's hat, and spectacles. He held a wand with him at all time.

"You called, Your Majesty?" the wizard said, not nervously.

"Yes, I have, Kamak," Bowser said to the wizard, "I need you to confirm with your crystal ball if my nightmare is a premonition or just a stupid dream."

"You had a nightmare? That usually never happens to you, Sir."

"Exactly! Now I'm freaking paranoid!"

"Explain to me your dream, Sir," Kamak said wisely, taking out his crystal ball.

"All right, but I only remember the important details. Here goes: There are two boys from some southern area of the Mushroom Kingdom who will grow up and defeat me, one day. They will both be mere plumbers yet with special abilities. It's totally preposterous. How can two crummy plumbers take me out?"

"How did the plumbers defeat you, Sir?"

"I don't really remember that well, but the point is that there can be two fools out there waiting to defeat me. Can you confirm this as a premonition?"

Kamak looked into his crystal ball absorbingly for the answer to Bowser's question. Bowser looked a little nervous for once. After what seemed to be several minutes, Kamak seemed to have found out the answer, but he had a sullen face.

"I am terribly sorry, Your Majesty, but your nightmare _is_ in fact a premonition."

Bowser was speechless for a moment, then he spoke, both angrily and in panic at the same time.

"What!? This can't be! I'll make sure this doesn't happen! Kamak, can you get anymore information out of this, like who those two plumbers are?"

"I could try."

Kamak looked into the ball again.

"Hmm… I think I have something."

"Really?" Bowser asked.

"Yes, the two plumbers-to-be are brothers of the Tricocci family."

"Tricocci family? I never even heard of that family before."

There was a brief pause.

"The Tricocci family is from a rather far province of the Mushroom Kingdom called Bologna. The culture and even the language of the Bolognans are different from the traditional Mushroomers. The traditional Mushroomers and we speak Gnylian. But the Bolognans speak a language also called Bolognan. They have this rather pleasant accent. And sometimes they do speak Gnylian, usually to interact with non-Bolognans."

Bowser looked at Kamak a little weirdly for a moment.

"How in the world did you know all of that cultural stuff, Kamak?" Bowser asked curiously and weirdly.

"I have been doing my studies," the Koopa wizard replied simply, "At least we know where the two boys are."

"Yes, why of course," Bowser laughed, "Hey, I have an idea: we'll sneak some Koopas to Bologna to kill the two boys. It will be perfect!"

At that moment, Bowser gave a loud growling laugh of joy.

"That's an excellent plan, Your Majesty!" said Kamak, "I will try to get a better coordination of the boys so we know where exactly to send the assassinators."

"Excellent!"

It was apparent that Bowser's frown turned upside-down. He could not wait for the murders to take place.

Meanwhile, in a far province of the Mushroom Kingdom, there was a young boy sitting in the front yard of his house, looking at the cloudy sky. The boy was a little round, but not too round; although his nose was unusually round. He wore a red shirt with blue overalls and brown shoes. His hair was brown and his eyes were blue.

While he was thinking about something, another boy came out of the decent house of the yard where the first boy was sitting. The second boy was a little round too, except that he was a little skinnier and taller. His brown hair was a little different and he wore green instead of red. The second boy sat next to the first boy.

"Hey, bro, what are you-a thinkin' about?" the second boy asked the first boy.

"Nothing-a much, Wegi," the first boy replied, "I was just-a thinking about our cousin, Savio."

The one called 'Wegi' also remembered their cousin.

"Oh yeah, I remember him. He was the one who wanted to be a doctor when he grows up. I remember that he looked like you, Mario."

"Yeah, and his brother, Cousin Lombardo, looked kinda like you, Wegi."

"Oh yeah, I remembered that; he said that-a when we grow up, we will still look the same. Didn't they move a while ago?"

"Yeah, to the big city. I think that they both-a wanted to be doctors."

"I'm not-a sure about that one, bro.'

After a brief pause, a woman, supposedly Mario and Wegi's mother, came out to call the brothers in the house. She was a slim woman whose hair was also brown and she wore a blue housedress with a pink apron. Her accent was slightly different from the brothers and her nose was nowhere near the appearance of the brothers', but instead it was a delicate small one.

"Mario! Luigi! It's time for your mid-morning nap," she called.

"Already, mama?" Luigi said startlingly, trying not to whine. Apparently, 'Wegi' was actually 'Luigi'; only Mario called Luigi the name 'Wegi'.

"Yes, Luigi. Time to nap."

And with that, Mario and Luigi came in the house and went to their rooms. Even if they did not want to have their mid-morning nap, they always listened to their mother for that they were very obedient boys.

About several minutes later, while the boys were napping, their father came home. He looked just like Mario, except that he was an adult with a black moustache and wore gray jeans and a white dress-shirt. He usually had a serious look on his face, and today was no exception. This time though, the father of Mario and Luigi looked a little concerned and seemed to be planning something.

"Honey, I need to talk to you," the father said to the mother.

"Really? What's the matter, Lombardo?" the mother asked curiously.

While the talking between his mother and father, Mario was partially awake, though more on the sleepy side. He could hear a little of his parents' conversation, but he could not comprehend much. Mario was also aware that his father's name was also Lombardo, just like his cousin. Because of this, the cousin Lombardo was formally known as Lombardo II, while Mario's father was Lombardo I.

"See, Maria," Lombardo I said to his wife, "we have sort of a problem on our hands, but I also see it as an opportunity. I have heard from some friends that-a they are coming."

Mario did not know what 'they' referred to in his father's statement.

"Oh no! Really? All the way over here? That's impossible!"

"Don't-a worry, dear; I'll be fine. Just remember what I told you to do under-a dire situations. Okey-dokie?"

"All right, Lombardo. But what are you going to do now?"

"Here's the plan…"

Mario could not listen to anymore since he fell asleep. He did not worry too much about what happened.

It was later that afternoon when Maria woke up her two sons.

"Mario, Luigi, time to get up. You need to be ready urgently!" Maria said to her sons.

The sons woke up, moaning for more sleep.

"Just-a two more minutes," Luigi whined, sleepily.

"No, dear. Time to go now."

"Where, mama?" Mario asked, a little more awake now.

"We are going to hide at our neighbor Alessa's home for a moment," said Maria.

"You mean our neighbor who-a lives on the other side of the neighborhood? Why?" Luigi asked.

"Dears, it's hard to explain now. Basically, there are some bad people after us. We will be safe at Alessa's place while your father and some other neighbors take care of those bad guys. Understand?" Maria explained.

"Yes, mama," both Mario and Luigi said obediently.

After packing necessary things, Maria and her two sons left for Alessa's house. Alessa was aware that Maria was going to come.

Most of the neighborhood was very similar throughout; the houses were small but decent, and the streets were nice and quiet. This was no exception for Alessa's house.

When Maria and the sons came to the house, a lady who seemed to be of middle age came out the house. The lady was neither slim nor chubby. Her brown hair made nice curls. This was Alessa.

"_Pomeriggio buono!"_ Alessa greeted.

"_Il pomeriggio buono a lei anche."_ Maria greeted back.

"I know what you are here for. Please come in."

"Thank you, Alessa."

"I just-a hope that your husband will ward off those beasts and be all right."

Maria had a sudden, worried look on her face.

"I also hope that my husband will be all right," Maria said somberly.

They all sat quietly in the comfortable living room, waiting for an outcome to the coming of the 'beasts'.

It was late at night in the Koopa Empire. Bowser was drinking some of his favorite red pepper juice in a wine glass, wondering if the two boys were killed.

While Bowser was deep in thought, a Koopa messenger came into the throne room where Bowser was.

"Ah, messenger! Is there any news?" Bowser asked, a little excited to hear good news.

"Well sir, I am deeply sorry to say, but we didn't even find the sons," the messenger said nervously.

"What!?" Bowser exclaimed, "How can this be!? You did not find those Tricocci brothers?"

"Yes, sire, we didn't. And we didn't want to make a drastic scenario down there, so we left."

At this point, Bowser was furiously mad. All the Koopas in the throne room at that time looked panicky. However, to their surprise, Bowser calmed down a little.

"Okay, so you didn't find those blasted boys? Damn! I'll just have to wait until they make a move against us. Once that happens, I will finish them off myself!" Bowser declared.

All of the Koopas were relieved of the soothing of Bowser's wrath and they all cheered enthusiastically.

"Maria, we have-a bad news."

A friend of Maria came to Alessa's house to tell them some bad news. The friend was also slim and beautiful like Maria, except her hair was dirty blond and her hair was a little wavy. It was late at night.

"My husband just-a told me that– that–" The friend was hesitant.

"What happened?" Maria asked.

There were little tears seen on the friend's eye. Maria knew this was terrible news.

"You husband was killed by the Koopas!"

Maria was paralyzed for a moment. She started to weep, and everyone else followed. Mario and Luigi never expected such a tragedy to happen in there lives. It was too sad for them.

"Ma come?" Maria cried. "Not my poor dear!"

After some more laminations and a few pauses, Maria turned to her two sons.

"Mario, Luigi, somehow I feared that something bad would happen. And even your father feared too. So he told me that if something bad happened, then we are to move out of this region," Maria explained.

"Out of the region!?" Luigi said, "Why?"

"Well dear, what if those Koopas continue to come after us? We would not be safe here. Your father told me one time that those Koopas don't attack large cities."

"So we are going to the city?" Mario asked.

"Yes, Mario. I think your father would have wanted that, for our safety."

Maria turned to the friend who told them the bad news.

"Graziana, are the Koopas still here?"

"I think not," Graziana said, "My husband told-a me that they left."

"Great. Mario, Luigi, we are going to pack up our things. We are moving."

For Mario and Luigi, everything seemed to have been very sudden this day. Nevertheless, obediently as they were, they followed their mother to their home.

When they arrived, they found much of their home in ruins. The door ripped open; damaged furniture; clothes and books lying on the floor. The Tricocci family took their precious belongings in the mess. Afterward, Maria showed Mario and Luigi a registration paper that said that their father bought an apartment room all the way at Mushroom City, the biggest city in the Mushroom Kingdom. Lombardo I bought this just in case a bad scenario happened, and surely, such a thing did happen. Now this meant that Mario and Luigi would experience the city life for a time in their childhood. They all hoped for the best in their future and hoped to be away from the terrible Koopas.


	14. Reaching for the Stars

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Mario and Luigi (C) Nintendo.

Yule, Lombardo I, MKSS, Yetorid, Yetroidians, Zetroid, Zetroidians, Ulyanovsk (the nation, not the city), Phoses/Planet Mushroom/Planet Zetroid, Yule's father, and Yule's mother (C) me.

_Note: I, as the writer, cannot determine if the United Kingdom really has a Secret Service or not. Someone will have to confirm this as true or not._

**Reaching for the Stars**

While Mario and Luigi were living in sorrow after their father's death, there was mystery and happiness somewhere far, far away. In fact, it was so far that it was on a distant planet, a planet with constructed civilizations that came and went by for eons. It would be four years after the killing of Lombardo I.

There was a young boy who lived in the quiet suburbs of a splendid city. The boy was around the age of eleven. He wore a dark gray shirt and black pants and juvenile glasses. He also had fair, straight black hair and was in shape, by an eleven-year-old's standards.

The boy had a pretty happy life; he would smile a little most of the time; when he was really happy, he would give a larger smile. His family was wonderful; his friends were thoughtful; his teachers were helpful. He was doing some of his studies for school in his living room. The room had beautiful wooden flooring and the walls were a nice cream color. The television at the corner of the room was on showing the weather of the city where the boy lived.

"Today is October 14, 1988, and boy is it a wonderful day here in London," the weatherman said, "it's nice and sunny with a little clouds. Nice, cool wind; it should be a perfect day to visit our wonderful parks like Hyde, Bushy, or Green Park."

The boy had lived in London for all of his life, and he found it an absolutely wonderful city; he would not want to move anywhere else, like Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Paris, or the other great cities of the European continent; he loved London.

Feeling that he needed to take a break, the boy ceased his studying for a moment to take a nice walk around the neighborhood. Every house in his neighborhood, including his house, was splendid and full of marvel. It was obvious that his family was of higher wealth than most others were. Like the weatherman from the television said, it was a nice, cool day. The wind was cool, but not cold at all. The sun stood high above the sky, shining its beautiful rays of daytime. The trees waved gently while the crisp, red leaves moved in the breeze.

The boy loved his neighborhood and the people within it. However, he loved the city even more. His family and he had visited it several times, and he would enjoy every single visit. He imagined the wondrous structures like the London Telecom Tower, the NatWest Tower, the Tower Bridge, and the Trafalgar Square among other locations. He also loved the many shops of Oxford Street. He imagined the hustle and bustle of people going to the many shops of the street. He also imagined how the street would always be decorated with beautiful, festive lights every time it was near Christmas.

The boy closed his eyes to imagine the pleasure of such times. Moments later, right before his eyes, he was at Oxford Street. It was just as he imagined it, except for the festive lights because it was not near Christmas time yet. At first, he thought he was hallucinating, but later he realized that he was truly at the street, as if he teleported there. The distance between the boy's neighbor and Oxford street was not much of a walking distance at all, so there was no way the boy actually walked all the way there. He recalled seeing the splendid houses of his neighborhood and then seeing cars and people and shops. Could it be possible that the boy teleported himself from one place to another? Even so, the boy was surprised that the people on the streets did not notice his sudden arrival from what seemed to be out of nowhere. Apparently, there were many people on the street for anyone to notice unusual activity.

The boy had to think quickly, since he was in confusion about how he got to Oxford. He tried to imagine his house and his family. Then he closed his eyes.

To his surprise, the boy made it back to his house; he was standing on the front yard. He was in deep thought about what just happened. Did he really have teleportation techniques? He decided on attempting such an unnatural power again, this time by a much shorter distance.

He decided to teleport to his backyard, since he was on the front yard. After looking around to see if there were any people on the streets around his house, he closed his eyes, since there was no one around. He imagined his backyard, which had a nice orange patio with some brown chairs. After opening his eyes again, he found himself in the backyard. It was no doubt to him now that he defiantly had teleportation.

The boy was happy that he had good talents, like his high intelligence and his ability to remember things to the smallest detail. But he never knew that he was talented enough to have abilities that were considered 'supernatural'. Earlier, the boy found out that he could read people's minds. He also found out that he had some sort of levitation ability. He was doing homework one day when he was a little bored and stared at the pencil that he was doing his homework with; that same pencil started to float a little. It was amazing to him.

Now finding out about his teleportation skills, the boy concluded that he had psychic powers. Such a thought was still unbelievable for him. He felt that his family or friends would not believe him if he told them about his powers, unless he demonstrated; that is what he did not want. He did not want public attention from his powers, so he kept them secret.

That afternoon, the boy and his family were having dinner. The boy's father came back home from work. The father worked for the United Kingdom's Secret Service, or UKSS. The UKSS was nowhere as advanced as the MKSS, but a lot of interesting things happened there too.

"Yule, m'boy, how was your day?" the father asked the boy happily.

The father was a tall man with straight black hair and wore a nice black business suit. Yule's mother, who was sitting besides Yule's father, was an elegant, brown-haired woman who wore a pretty brown housedress.

"My day was fine, father," Yule answered.

"So what happened at work today, honey?" Yule's mother asked Yule's father.

"Well if I told you, you wouldn't believe me," Yule's father grinned.

"Oh, really?" Yule's mother asked innocently, slapping him lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh, all right; I'll tell you. See, we sent astronauts from here and from America on an expedition into space. And you won't believe what we found out. There was a portal of some sort in the middle of space and the astronauts' rocket flew through the portal and landed on another planet with intelligent life!"

"Blimey!" Yule interjected, "Are you serious father?"

"Yes, it's true, son," said Yule's father, "the planet they landed on was unimaginable, according to the astronauts. They said that there were all these towers everywhere and cars could fly!"

Yule's mother was speechless and shocked. Yule was shocked but he could still speak.

"What were the people like?" Yule asked.

"The astronauts said that the people were rather nice. Most thought that they might attack our men, but they didn't. Those people said that their planet had many vast countries. If I could remember correctly, the nation our men landed on was called 'Yetroid' or something."

"Yetroid, huh? What other nations were there on the planet?"

"I believe that there was also a 'Zetroid'. The Yetroidians said that the astronauts were lucky that they didn't land on Zetroid."

"Why?"

"I recall that the astronauts reported that the Zetroidian nation was evil or something. Something was just not right about it, apparently.

And there were a bunch of other nations too. One nation included 'Ulyanovsk'…"

"Isn't Ulyanovsk a city in Russia?" Yule's mother asked.

"Well… yes, but apparently it is a nation on Yetroid's planet," Yule's father said.

"What is the name of the planet?" Yule asked.

"The astronaut's told us that that planet has multiple names," said Yule's father, "Some call it 'Planet Yetroid', others call it 'Planet Zetroid', and still others call it 'Phoses', and then an indigenous group calls it 'Planet Mushroom'."

"Planet Mushroom?" Yule's mother asked oddly, "I've never heard of a planet being called that before."

"Yes, that is unusual, but this discovery is very important," said Yule's father, "It could be the dawn of the future for all we know! The astronauts returned just several hours ago with all of this information that I just told you."

"That was very interesting," said Yule's mother, interested, "Are there any pictures about this?"

"Fortunately, there are, but I would have to go to get them at our headquarters. Now I want you, wife and son, to promise to me that you will not tell a single soul about what I told you. This is very secret and it should not be publicized. All right?"

"We promise," Yule and his mother said in unison.

Yule had a long day with all of these wonderful discoveries that seemed appropriate for a science fiction story. First, there was the discovery of his special physic powers, and then was the finding of another planet. It seemed that Yule's life was going to get much more interesting for a long while. He felt that his powers and the extraterrestrial planet had a connection, but he could not make that connection now.


	15. The Orphan Vampire

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Peach (C) Nintendo.

Planet Mushroom, Krift, Krift's parents, and Ms. Srian (C) me.

**The Orphan Vampire**

Back on Planet Mushroom, there was another problem in the Mushroom Kingdom. It was late at night and most people were asleep. There was a small gang of goon-looking men with riffles in a quiet village that was distant from the village that was near Princess Peach's residence.

The men went to one of the small houses at the village's corner and broke in without other people knowing. The inhabitants of that house were a man with a pale complexion, a beautiful woman whose skin was not as pale, and a little boy around the age of five. The man had a handsome face with spiky black hair. The woman was slender and blonde. Regardless of her attractiveness, she was a very innocent and modest woman. The young boy had the same hair color and pale complexion as his father, but he had his mother's ears and slightly pointed nose. The boy's brownish-red eyes were also just like his mother's.

The abrupt entrance of the goons woke up the husband and wife from their bed; the son was still asleep in another room. Seeing riffles with the goons, the wife held her husband for protection.

"Hey, what's the big deal?" the husband asked, seeing the guns and goons, "Who told you you can barge into our house?"

"No one did, you bloodthirsty vampire!" one of the goons replied rudely.

The husband was now angry and the wife was more worried. The wife spoke.

"How did you know that he was a–"

"Shut up!" one of the goons interrupted, "Now hold still while we kill the both of you!"

The man stood in front of his wife protectively.

"If you want to kill vampires, then deal with me. Leave my wife out of this; she isn't a vampire."

The goons suddenly looked disgustedly at the wife; they found marriage between a vampire and a human pure treachery.

The vampire husband suddenly sprang forward and fought the goons. The human wife ran to the son's room to wake her son form sleep.

"Dear… Krift… wake up!" the wife said to her son.

The son, Krift, woke up abruptly.

"Mommy, what is going on?" Krift said sleepily.

"There are some guys here with guns, and we have to leave!"

Suddenly being awake, Krift got up and left the house. They ran to nearby houses. That was when the mother heard her husband scream to death; he was shot. The mother and son stopped by a house that was a little nicer than the others.

"Krift, I need you to stay here, okay? I'll see what happened to your father," Krift's mother said.

"Yes, mommy," Krift said.

And with that, Krift's mother ran back to their house to see what happened. Krift was worried about what would happen; he did not want his father to be dead, or his mother.

Unaware by Krift, there was a slim woman behind him. She wore a dark red tank top and black jeans. Her brown hair was long and a little curly. She had a worried look on her face. She was wondering what the boy in front of her was doing there. She came up to Krift.

"Child, what are you doing here in the middle of night? You know it isn't safe," the woman said.

"My mommy and papa are being attacked by guys with guns," Krift said sadly.

"Really?" the woman said worryingly, "Oh dear. You will have to be indoors before anyone sees you in the middle of the streets. You wouldn't mind staying at my place for a moment until the situation settles?"

"All right, I'll come with you."

The woman was surprised that Krift trusted her easily.

"Okay dear. Come with me."

"Oh, by the way, what is your name? I was just curious."

"Well… you can call me Ms. Srian."

Ms. Srian took Krift into the nicer house. After that, she went outside to see if the situation at Krift's house settled. Moments later, she heard the screaming of a woman. That must be Krift's mother. Ms. Srian ran to Krift's house and gasped in shock when she saw both parents dead. She saw two bullet marks on each person. Ms. Srian felt really bad about it; she did not know what to tell Krift.

After Ms. Srian returned to her house, she saw Krift lying on the brown couch, half-awake.

"Dear, um… I have bad news," Ms. Srian said sadly.

"What happened? Are my parents okay?"

"Well… let's just say that they are in a better place now."

Krift understood what she was trying to say and started to cry a little. Ms. Srian hugged him.

"Oh it's okay. I don't really know why those mean men came in to kill your parents, but now I will be here to protect you."

"Really?"

"Yes. I really like you; there is something sweet about you. I'm really sorry that your parents are… well… you know. I feel that I shouldn't just let you go. You are much safer with me; you can trust me, right?"

"I can."

There was a short pause.

"Again, I'm really sorry for what happened. You should be getting some rest; children need lots of sleep. I hope you won't be too much in gloom."

"I'll try not to. Thank you madam."

Now there was a small teardrop from her eye. Even though she had no relation to Krift or his family at all, she felt emotional about what happened. She felt that she could raise Krift well, since his parents are gone. Krift sobbed for a moment and then slept comfortably on the couch. Ms. Srian put a blanket on him, smiled a little, and proceeded to her room to sleep.

Back at the Mushroom Palace, Princess Peach woke up in the middle of the night. She was a little older now; around her pre-teen age. She had some of her childish appearance and a little of a new, more mature look what would shape her throughout her teenager life.

Peach woke up from a disturbing feeling that suddenly occurred to her. She felt that it had something to do with anticipation or an instinct. She had the feeling that someone was in danger, and thought for a moment about the feeling. She felt a similar feeling right before the vampress who helped her ended up dying from a bunch of fools who lacked respect.

Now noticing that, she felt that another person was really in trouble, specifically a vampire. Unaware by Peach, Krift, the five-year-old vampire boy, was in trouble. He lost both of his parents and the goons who killed them were most likely going to go after Krift as well. But fortunately for him, Ms. Srian saved him from further trouble, regardless if she was human and Krift was not. Peach hoped whoever was in trouble would be okay.

Feeling a little relieved from the sudden odd sensation, the fourteen-year-old princess yawned cutely and went back to sleep.


	16. Strawberry’s Dream

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach, Koopa King, and Toadsworth (C) Nintendo.

Strawberry and Lily (C) me.

**Strawberry's Dream**

That same night when Peach felt the odd sensation, her mother was having a nightmare in her sleep. Strawberry was running around a garden maze. She frequently heard cries of various people. She was at the end of the maze and saw several people. These people looked shaky and dull, as if they were zombies. One of the people was a short portly man who wore red and white king's robes and a crown that was equivalent to the magnificent crown that was worn by Strawberry's husband for a time. His eyes were blue and his nose was large and round. He stood weary, as if his energy was dramatically drained.

There was also a brown hair woman who was as weary as the short man. She was very much in the appearance of Strawberry's sister, Lily. But there were many differences between Lily and the brunette whom Strawberry was seeing. The woman's blue eyes were a little bigger than Lily's first of all. Secondly, her hair was in a different style; it was much shorter. And the design to the woman's dress was slightly different from Lily's.

And there was also a tall, pretty blonde woman, once again, just as weary as the portly man and the brunette woman. The blonde woman looked much like Strawberry herself, except she was not wearing a crown, and for that matter, a dress. The blonde was wearing medical clothing that was suited for a nurse.

There were many other weary people besides the first three Strawberry saw. There were some people with a tan complexion, others with a white complexion, and still others with a very dark complexion of brown or even black skin. She did not recognize any of these people.

All the people were walking like zombies towards Strawberry and moaned in unison,

"_Help us… Save us from the beast… She hungers… she hungered… she will hunger…"_

At this point, Strawberry wanted to shriek in fright, but she kept herself under control. She glanced around her vicinity for an alternative route in the maze. She found a relatively small crack through the vegetation of the maze's wall. She snuck through this crack and fell into a reddish-black void of nothingness. She screamed during her fall. She could not take it anymore. She had the feeling that this was a nightmare and she wanted to get out of it very soon.

But unfortunately for her, it was not over yet. After falling for a while, Strawberry fell on solid ground, but the ground was as discolored as the empty void. The Queen lied in discomfort and pain. When she had enough energy to merely move, Strawberry turned her head up so she would not stare at the floor.

In front of Strawberry was a young adolescent around the age of fourteen lying comfortably on the floor of the void, if there was any. She was blonde just like Strawberry and wore a macabre juvenile black dress. She girl showed no expressions whatsoever.

All Strawberry could do was stare in shock. The girl highly resembled Peach, her own daughter. She could not believe it at first, but Strawberry was eventually under the realization that the girl _was_ Peach.

"Mother… what's the matter?" the girl who resembled Peach asked Strawberry, "I'm sure you aren't hurt. Let me help you."

'Peach' got up from the floor and handed her hand to Strawberry. Trusting her own daughter as any good mother would do, Strawberry took Peach's hand. After getting up from the fall, Strawberry looked worryingly at Peach.

"Peach, dear, w– why do you look s– so different?" Strawberry asked fearfully.

"Different, Mother? What's wrong with being different?" Peach laughed. This was the first time she giggled in the black dress. But her laugh was not benevolent; it had a hint of mischief in it.

"Well, um… see… where did you get that black dress from?" Strawberry asked hesitantly.

"I got it from you of course, Mother."

"What… really?!"

"Yes. It was in the attic so I tired it on and it fitted me perfectly!"

"Well, okay then… umm…"

"Mother?"

"Yes dear?"

"You aren't afraid of me, are you?"

"Well, of course not! Why would I be afraid of my own daughter?"

"Well, see, I have this really awesome but scary secret."

"A secret…?"

Now Strawberry was a little more afraid than before.

"Yeah! Neat, really. You should have been one of us."

"Just what do you mean by 'one of us'?"

"You'll see."

Strawberry became a little worn out and saw her daughter disappear with the blink of an eye! Now where did she go? Strawberry panicked as she saw everything become darker. Eventually it became so dark that Strawberry could not see anything.

"Peach? Peach!? What's going on!?"

Strawberry was frantic at this point. She was also panting. When she was thinking about what just happened, she suddenly felt brutal pain all around her. She shrieked once again, this time gagging as well. The pain slowly went down her spine, then all the way up to her cranium. She heard the snickering of a girl. All a sudden all the pain in Strawberry's body was concentrated to her neck. It was so brutal and she couldn't even scream. It was as if someone bit her on the neck…

"Mother? Mother… wake up."

Peach was besides her mother's bed when she saw her mother twisting and turning violently on her bed. Slowly and surely, Strawberry opened her eyes. She saw Peach besides her and flinched for a moment.

"Mother? Are you okay!?" Peach was really worried now. "Mother, speak to me!"

Strawberry looked at Peach again. Now she was ashamed for flinching. How could she be afraid of her own daughter? It was only a bloody dream.

"Peach? Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I'm well, but I'm not sure about you. Why did you flinch?"

Strawberry closed her eyes in despair.

"Forgive me, dear. It was only a nightmare, thank goodness," Strawberry said dully, yet with relief.

"A nightmare? Well, that explains everything then. I hope you're okay now, Mother."

"I am, dear. Thank you."

Strawberry put her hand on Peach's forehead with respect.

"I'm sorry I flinched. That dream was horrible."

"How horrible? Did it involve– you know– the Koopa King?" Peach whispered in the end.

"Well, no. But that dream was still horrifying. At least it's over; we won't have to think about it much anymore."

"Well that's great!" Peach said happily.

Suddenly Toadsworth ran into Strawberry's bedroom after seeing that there was something wrong with the Queen.

"Princess! Is Her Royal Highness all right?" Toadsworth asked a little panicked.

"Oh she's all right, Sir. Don't worry," said Peach.

"Oh, Toadsworth. Did you really run all the way up here to see if I was okay?" Strawberry said, laughing a little.

They all started to laugh. Strawberry was glad the dream was over.

Later that day, Strawberry went into the attic of the palace by herself. She recalled that in the dream, Peach said that she found the black dress in the attic. Strawberry went to find out to see if there was really a macabre black dress in the attic. No one could blame Strawberry; she was a little paranoid after the dream after all. That dream still haunted her secretly.

The attic was one of the least appealing rooms in the palace, mainly because almost no one came there. The walls, floor, and ceiling were composed of wooden planks. On the side of the little space was a dusty wooden dresser. There was also a maroon chest in the middle of the attic.

If Strawberry could remember correctly, there were no clothes in the chest, so she looked into the dresser. Because it was very dusty, Strawberry gave a quick sneeze that was as cute as her light voice. She searched and searched, but she could not find the dress that she saw in her dream. With that, Strawberry gave a brief sigh of relief. Since she could not find the dress, it was probably not there.

And with that, Strawberry felt a little more relieved from the paranoia and the dream in general.


	17. Bowser’s Wedding

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach, the Koopas, the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser Koopa, Toadsworth, and Kamak (C) Nintendo.

Strawberry, Toadscope, Mr. Edwin, and Mariam Koopa (C) me.

**Bowser's Wedding**

About a week after Strawberry's freakish nightmare, there was unusual excitement at the Koopa Empire. Strawberry and Peach found out when a herald, obviously a Toadish, told them about it.

"Should I find out more about this, Your Highness?" the herald asked Strawberry. They were all in the throne room.

"Yes. Please do. I am really suspicious about those Koopas. I hope they are not up to something. That will be all, Toadscope," Strawberry said to the herald.

And with that, Toadscope left the room, going to find out more about the elevated thrill at the Koopa Empire.

At late afternoon, Peach was in her room, deep in her studies. At this age, she was home-schooled, but when she would become older, she would go to the Kingdom's Royal Academy, where she would continue her studies just like how common people would go to high school at teen age.

While studying, Peach was interrupted by knocking on her bedroom door. She apparently closed it so no one would disturb her; she was devoted to her studies unlike most other youngsters.

"Who is it?" Peach called.

"Princess," said Toad outside the door, "we have received important news that you'll have to know just like all of us. Your mother wanted you in the throne room."

"All right, I'm coming."

Putting her pencil down, Peach left her desk to go to the throne room. She did not look so disturbed by the interruption in her studies. In fact, she was curious about what the news was.

Arriving at the throne room, Peach saw her mother sitting on the throne as always when something important happened. She also saw some government officials and the Prime Minister, Mr. Edwin from the 'Zetroidian crisis'. Peach went and sat by the miniature throne that was place next to Strawberry's large throne.

Toadscope, the one who was sent earlier to find out about the increasing Koopa activity entered the throne room again. He looked just like the other Toadish people, except he was slightly taller than the others and he was in an orange outfit, as opposed to the usual blue outfit.

"Do you have any news?" Strawberry asked Toadscope.

"Yes I do, Your Highness," Toadscope replied, "But it's rather unusual."

"Unusual? What do you mean by 'unusual'?"

"Well, see, Your Highness, there was apparently a celebration at the Koopa Empire."

Peach found the thought of the Koopas celebrating bizarre because the Koopas have not done something overwhelming weird that would catch the attention of virtually every Mushroomer. By looking around, Peach could tell that other people in the room shared similar thoughts as hers.

"A celebration?" Mr. Edwin said, "Why would the Koopas celebrate?"

"Well, see," said Toadscope, "The reason for the celebration I think everyone will find bizarre. It seems all a sudden if you ask me."

"What exactly was the reason for their celebration?" Strawberry asked.

"Well… the Koopa King was wedded," Toadscope replied.

Nearly everyone in the room gave an odd and surprised reaction to such a statement. Was King Bowser really married? And if he was, then to whom?

"A wedding? My goodness!" Mr. Edwin said, surprised.

"The Koopa King was married!?" Toadsworth asked, also surprised, "Who did he marry?"

"He married a female Koopa noble by the name of Mariam," Toadscope said.

"Mariam? I think I've heard of her before," Strawberry said, "But I don't know much. I believe she's a pacifist."

Peach never heard of a Koopa pacifist before. She and others thought about this for a while.

Meanwhile at in the Koopa Fortress, Bowser and his newly wedded wife, Mariam were drinking spicy pepper juice in Bowser's bedroom, chatting happily.

Mariam was also a large Koopa like Bowser, except she was somewhat smaller than Bowser and had very womanly features. Her red hair waved elegantly as she embraced her husband. Bowser accepted her embrace by wrapping his arms around her feminine body.

"At last I have a lovely wife with whom I can spend some time with," Bowser said softly; he rarely spoke softly. He kissed his wife lovingly.

"My, aren't we romantic today?" Mariam said keenly, "I'm glad for the both of us."

"You said it! The wedding was wonderful, the food and the ceremony were wonderful, and of course, you are wonderful."

"Why thank you handsome!" Mariam flirted.

"Oh Mari baby!" Bowser laughed, "Don't give me that yet. It has been only a few hours since we were married."

"I know sugar; just wanted to tell you how much I love you."

Mariam kissed Bowser. At that moment, Bowser was having feelings that he never felt before. He felt celebrative.

"You know what?" Bowser said to his wife.

"What sweetie?"

"I don't think that the wedding and the party were enough for celebrating the wonderful marriage of you and me."

"Really?"

"Yes. I think there has to be more."

Bowser thought while Mariam wondered what more there was to do after the wedding.

"Hmm…" Bowser was thinking, "I think I know what to do. I say we celebrate further by taking over the Mushroom Kingdom. Yes! That's it!"

Bowser was suddenly excited by his idea, but his wife looked a little concern. Bowser noticed that.

"Dear? What's the matter?"

"Bowser, do you think we really need to take those people over?" Mariam asked.

"Well… why not dear?"

"See, I don't think it's a good idea."

"Not a good idea, huh?" Bowser did not seem to have a disappointed tone, but he was curious to know why taking over the Mushroom Kingdom was a bad idea to his wife.

"Yeah. See, we've just married and all, and I don't see it as an appropriate thing to invade the Mushroomers. Just a thought."

Bowser thought for a long while about his wife's words. He eventually gave in to her.

"You know, I think you're right, Mariam. Maybe we shouldn't invade the Mushroom Kingdom yet. Do you have anything in mind that we can do for now?"

"Well, since you asked dear, I do have something," Mariam said happily. "Oh Kamak!" she called out.

Quickly, Kamak came into the premises.

"Is there anything I can do for you, My Queen?" Kamak asked Mariam.

"Do you have the 'game'?"

"Oh yes, I do."

Kamak took out a fancy flat box that seemed to have a board game contained within it. Bowser recognized it quickly.

"Koopa Chess!?" Bowser asked excitedly, "Oh Mariam, you're the best!"

And with that, Mariam was relieved that her husband was happy. It seemed that she made life easier for Strawberry, Peach, and their people, even though Mariam did not realize it. By warding Bowser away from invasion, Mariam stopped the possibility of there being chaos in the Mushroom Kingdom. One would not how long this era of peace would last though, since it's usually hard to stop Bowser when he wanted something. Fortunately for Peach and the others, this era of peace would last a long while.


	18. Sweet Seventeen

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach, Toadette, Daisy, Bowser, Koopa Empire, and Mushroom Kingdom (C) Nintendo.

The Prime Minister (Edwin), Goldtoad, Lily, Strawberry, Peter Charles, Toadstine, Toadscir, David Toadstool, and the Mushroom Kingdom's "Sweet 17" custom (C) me.

**Sweet Seventeen**

It had been seven years since the dear Princess Peach had secretly been living a life of vampirism. Over those years, she had successfully managed her nights of monthly hunting without being caught, though there were times when she would almost be caught. Fortunately for her, she would get away with her meals, who were her own citizens. Also, she wouldn't just hunt in the one same village where she first hunted; she would travel to more distant villages. She seemed to have enough energy to do so. Even after all of these years, Peach had much guilt for feasting on her people. She continued to pray to the Stars for forgiveness.

Even with all of this happening, Peach was much more calm about her vampirism than when she was still a child. In fact, her ability to hunt was much more advanced now and she was much more stealthy. She didn't have any reason to worry at this rate.

At the moment, Peach was in the same town where the Prime Minister lived. She was doing some errands that would help her be a more responsible princess when she became older. Being more elderly now, Peach was ready for the responsibilities that would come to her at adulthood.

Even her appearance signified how much older Peach grew. She was tall and beautiful. Her pink dress was decorated with wonderful golden patterns towards the bottom of the dress and a great, round blue crystal was fixed onto the upper portion of the dress in the center of the upper body. The dress fitted her slim figure nicely. Her elegant blonde hair waved gracefully as she walked. Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled with glee. Even her crown was more lovely; it had a more beautiful design to it than the crown she wore as a child. Peach pretty much matured over the years. It wouldn't be a surprise if people talked about how the beloved Princess grew to be such a beautiful woman. Surely, everyone remembered the adorable young Princess from years ago. Apparently, Peach was happy about that.

Peach was just returning to her residence from her errands. She was accompanied by Toad, a female Toadish named Toadette, and a male Toadish named Goldtoad. The female Toadish named Toadette had pink spots on her mushroom cap unlike Toad's red spots. She wore what seemed to look similar to a fancy dark pink school uniform. She also had two pink braids with each ending with a large bead that looked like the cap of a link mushroom. Goldtoad was the same height and had the same voice as Toad, but Goldtoad was heard to have many powers, but no one could really conclude that except for Goldtoad himself. His mushroom cap was gold and white and his outfit was also gold. It was pretty obvious.

Peach and those accompanying her were traveling to the Mushroom Palace on a beautiful horse-drawn carriage. The carriage was of royal design and was white and pink with the kingdom's symbol on the back and sides.

Earlier that morning, Peach had a feeling that this day was a special day. That morning she checked her calendar, which said that it was January 20, 1991. That was the day of her seventeenth birthday. She was getting excited, but once she met everyone that day, she felt that no one really noticed that it was her birthday; they just went on with their lives. She even noticed that with her mother. But of course, her mother was nice and greeting.

Peach wondered. Should she have reminded her mother that it was her birthday? Peach wasn't really the kind of person who wanted to get a lot of attention, but she honestly would have wanted her birthday celebrated. Though she decided not to talk about it that morning.

On the carriage, Peach was chatting with Toadette, who looked unusually happier than usual. Though Toadette was usually happy, Peach became curious by her happier mood that day.

"So how are you this very fine day, Princess?" Toadette asked.

"I'm pretty fine," Peach smiled, "How about you?"

"I'm also pretty fine. You know, I think that something special is going to happen today."

"Special?"

"Really?" Goldtoad interrupted, "Just how special?"

"Well, I don't know for sure," Toadette said, "But I'm pretty sure that everyone is going to be happy today."

That afternoon, the carriage made it to the Palace. While Peach and the others proceeded to the castle gates, Peach was still deep in thought. She didn't want to think too much about her birthday. She finally decided to forget about it. It was honestly a little disappointing, but she didn't want that to get in the way.

Opening the entrance into the castle, Peach noticed that the lobby was unusually quiet. Peach became a little concerned, but she noticed that not everyone else shared the same feelings. They were just happy, as if it was normal.

Goldtoad then opened the door that led to the throne room. It was dark for a brief moment but then the lights turned on. Peach was startled when it appeared that there were tons of people in the room all yelling, "Happy Birthday, Princess Peach!"

Peach suddenly became really happy and excited. There were people of all sorts. The room was filled with festivity. There was a large banner saying, "Happy 17th Birthday Princess!" hanging from the ceiling. Toadish people were everywhere. Then there was Strawberry, and even Lily and Daisy. Daisy looked much more mature and beautiful then when she was from the situation with Tatanga years ago. Her blue eyes fit nicely with the yellow-orange dress she was wearing. Her hair was slightly different from Lily's. Lily's was longer. Daisy's was shorter; the longest strands reached down to the base of her neck.

There were other people there as well, including the Prime Minister (Peach wondered how he got there so fast), Peter Charles, Toadstine, Toadscir, and a bunch of friends of Peach. She was so happy that there was a tear of joy coming from her eye. She turned to Toadette.

"I told you that something special was going to happen today," Toadette said, winking.

At this point, Peach was so happy that she came up to her mother and hugged her.

"Oh thank you so much, Mother!" Peach said excitedly, "For a moment, I thought that everyone forgot about my birthday."

"Oh Peach, how could we forget about your birthday?" Strawberry giggled.

"Yeah," Daisy laughed. Her voice was full of energy. "Happy Birthday Peach!"

"Thank you, Daisy!" Peach said, hugging her.

Peach enjoyed the festive afternoon with her family and friends. She found out later that all of the Mushroom Kingdom knew that it was her seventeenth birthday. In the Mushroom Kingdom, a woman turning seventeen years was a special thing because it was the age in which the Mushroomers believed that a woman could truly handle the responsibilities of being a mature and reliable lady. Mushroomers usually referred to this as 'Sweet Seventeen'. Peach was happy that she finally reached this age. She became determined to be a more responsible Princess.

Meanwhile in the Koopa Empire, Bowser was awfully curious by the festive activity south of him in the Mushroom Kingdom. When wanting to find out, a messenger said that it was the seventeenth birthday of Princess Peach Toadstool, the daughter of Queen Strawberry Toadstool. After finding out about Peach, he became even more curious; he never had the idea that Strawberry had a daughter with David. One might think that is rather dim-witted how Bowser didn't realize the existence of Princess Peach after seventeen years of being alive, but apparently, Bowser didn't really pay much attention on Peach before.

While reading reports and books that took reference to Princess Peach (Bowser ordered a Koopa to find any resources on Peach), Bowser found out much about Peach, like how she will obviously be the heir to the throne of the Mushroom Kingdom after her mother, how she was considered to be a gifted woman because she had magical powers and was very intelligent, and how Peach was reported to be one of the most beautiful women in the Mushroom Kingdom from the sixteen to twenty-five year old range. Bowser was amazed by all of it. He wanted to know more about her. But unfortunately for him, that was all of the resources that he had for now.


	19. The Great Accident

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

The Mushroom Kingdom, Koopa Empire, Sarasaland, Peach, Toad, Toadsworth, the Koopas, Toadette, and Mushroom City (C) Nintendo.

Strawberry, Peter Charles, Jaxon Xavier, the Djkeller Province, the Bologna Province, Mariam, Sir Artilmon, Heft Gron, Prime Minister Edwin, the Vice Prime Minister, Toadstine, Toadscir, and Red-Shroom Hospital (C) me.

SimNation (C) Maxis and EA Games.

**The Great Accident**

There was a lot of happiness in the Mushroom Kingdom for the two months following Princess Peach's birthday. Through time, many great innovations came like cellular phones, better personal computers, better traffic control in the urban areas and other things of general convenience. The subjects of Strawberry and Peach were happier than ever. And of course Strawberry and Peach themselves were joyful. It seemed that the brief era of peace would never end. A similar era of peace was being enjoyed at the Sarasa Kingdom.

And as for SimNation, everything was pretty much normal. However, Peter Charles resigned back at February because he thought that he was in office for too long and felt that someone else could handle the responsibility of being President of SimNation. The newly elected President, Jaxon Xavier had different policies from Charles. And because of Xavier's policies, SimNation would not have as much of a close relationship with the Mushroom and Sarasa Kingdom as it did when Charles was still President. But even with all of that, there seemed to be no problem among these nations.

But the truth was that something vile was being planned. No one knew except for several people who were plotting in a rundown house that lied on the edge of a small town in a distant province of the Mushroom Kingdom called Djkeller. Traditional Mushroomers didn't know much about Djkeller, nor did anyone really talk about it. Some people reported that Djkeller had issues, but no one knew of these issues. Djkeller bordered the Bologna province.

The people in the rundown house were Djkellerans and Bolognans. They were arguing about something related to vampires.

"…so I think that She is a vampire since some of our men found out that Her Daughter was also a vampire," a Djkelleran was saying.

"Wait, who said that Her Daughter was one of them?" another Djkeller was saying.

A Bolognan came out of the shadows to answer this question. He was relatively short and had a peculiar accent.

"You mean no one told you about how the Daughter has been out snacking on us humans?" the short Bolognan said in a serious tone.

"Well, no. But Boss, I've heard that some of our men died because of her," the second Djkelleran said to the short Bolognan. Apparently, the short Bolognan was the 'boss' of the group.

"She's a massacre!" the boss exclaimed, "So many of our men died to her. She looks innocent and timid from a glance, but when she's hungry, she's truly a loathed demon; I swear by the Stars.

"So I think it would be obvious that since the Daughter is like this, her Mother is bound to be a Vampire too. Where else would the vampire genes come from?"

All the men agreed with the boss's statement. They were convinced that the 'Mother' and the 'Daughter' were vampires.

"But now how do we kill them?" another Bolognan asked.

"Hmm…" the boss thought aloud, "I think I have an idea. Here's the plan…"

Peach was taking a nice stroll around the Courtyard of the Mushroom Palace. The courtyard was splendid with a large fountain in the center and marble and granite tiling. The vegetation was rich as well; the flower bushes and cherry trees were carefully planted when the place was built long ago. Peach was smelling some roses in the garden area of the courtyard when Toad came along calling her.

"Princess, Her Royal Highness would like to talk with you. She's in the throne room," Toad said.

"Really? Okay," Peach smiled, "I'll be right there."

Peach proceeded to the throne room to see her mother look a little serious, but not too serious. She was smiling at least.

"Dear," Strawberry started, "I've been thinking about something for a while, but – well first of all, you remember the one time when we were negotiating with the Koopas, right?"

"Yes, I remember that," Peach said.

"Well, I was thinking… We have been in peace for a long while, and I think that it should continue, wouldn't you think so?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Well then, I was thinking about negotiation with the Koopas again."

"Again?"

Peach was a little anxious.

"But Mother, are you sure that's a good idea?" Peach asked.

"I think it is, Peach," Strawberry replied, "And there's an important reason behind it. Do you remember Mariam?"

"Oh yes. She's the Queen of the Koopas, right?"

"Yes. When I was saying a few years ago that she was a pacifist, I wasn't wrong. I've even heard that she prevented the Koopas from invading us one time."

"Really?" Peach asked, startled by the fact that any Koopa could be like that.

"Well, that's what I heard. I'm not completely sure. But that's not the point. Queen Mariam's pacifism can be an aid in helping with negotiations between the Koopas and us."

Peach was thinking about it during the brief pause.

"Well Mother, knowing that, I think that it would actually be a good idea after all. I just hope that it works out."

"I hope so too, Dear."

A little later, Strawberry and some officials were ready to leave to the same building where the first negotiation occurred years ago. Besides the officials and Strawberry came Sir Artilmon, Commander Heft Gron, the Prime Minister, Toadstine, and Toadscir. Toadsworth agreed to accompany Peach in the castle with Toad and Toadette. Goldtoad was doing work somewhere distant, so no one was really concerned about him.

It was heard earlier that Queen Lily was also going to aide with the negotiations. With her, she brought Sergeant Hector Gumbol and a bunch of Sarasan officials.

The Koopa Empire was aware about the new negotiations. Some were worried. But others, like Mariam felt confident. She convinced Bowser that she should go negotiate with Strawberry instead of him. Bowser accepted happily.

Once everyone gathered in the building where the last negotiations happened, the meeting started without further delay. Some non-Koopas were surprised to see the Queen of the Koopas taking the place of the King in the meeting, but others like Strawberry were excited since she felt that with Mariam around, the negotiations were more likely to be a success.

Sir Artilmon started as he always would in important meeting, then everyone's attention turned to Strawberry. She suggested ways to prevent conflict Mushroomers and Koopas, and Mariam agreed happily. The Mushroomers started to respect the Queen of the Koopas since she seemed to be more peaceful than the other Koopas.

"All right," Mariam started to say, "What I think we need is a promotion for respecting our cultures. We Koopas will respect your culture while you Mushroomers respect our culture. I think that will build better ties between us."

"That's an excellent idea!" Strawberry said happily, "What do you think Lily?"

"Not a bad idea at all," Lily smiled "Though you wouldn't mind adding Sarasan culture into the mix, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," said Mariam.

And with that, they planned about how the promotion will run and what would be the outcomes of that.

After an hour of negotiations, there was a funny smell drifting around the room. Mariam recognized it as petroleum gas.

"It smells like gasoline," Mariam said, a little startled.

"Yeah," said Strawberry, also noticing the smell. Soon everyone else noticed it afterwards.

Not so long afterward, there was a large thunderous sound. It was so intense that it deafened some people. Then there was a catastrophic explosion. The explosion was so great that nothing could be seem except fire and a blinding flash for a few moments. There was screaming. There were also crunching sounds. The building was falling apart on them. Bricks from above fell like rain. It seemed that no one in the building survived. Outside the building, the explosion blew some guards away. Others were on fire, running around and screaming to death. Those guards who survived witnessed the collapse of the building. It was terrible.

After the smoke from the explosion cleared away, the surviving guards looked in horror as the building was in ruins. Rubble was everywhere, as well as bodies.

Bodies of Koopas. Bodies of Mushroomers. Bodies of the Queens.

"Princess! Princess Peach! Something terrible happened!" Toad exclaimed, running towards Peach. Peach was just minding her own business in the throne room.

"What's wrong? Did something happen at the negotiations?"

"Yes! The old negotiation building suddenly exploded!"

"What!?"

Peach was very worried for the first time in a few years. She never expected such a horrible thing to happen.

"How is Mother?!" Peach said, panicking.

"Her Highness is barely alive, and I heard that Queen Lily is dead!"

Peach gasped. This was too terrible; just too much for her.

"Where is Mother right now?"

"Her Highness is being treated at Red-Shroom Hospital at Mushroom City."

"We better get there quick!"

And with that, Peach, Toad, Toadette, and a few other people traveled to Mushroom City in a fancy car. The car looked like a white limo, but it wasn't as long.

After making it to Mushroom City, Peach ran to the hospital room where Strawberry was. Making it into the room, Peach gasped seeing her mother; she was bruised all over. Strawberry's right ear seemed ill shaped. The area around her left eye was swelled. She had scratches everywhere. Her dress looked like filthy rags. And she was missing one of her front teeth. She was lying on the hospital bed. Peach was going to cry seeing her mother in such a condition. The other people around were a few Toadish people and the Vice Prime Minister. They were all sad.

"Mo… Mother…" Peach was weeping, going up to Strawberry's hospital bed.

"P– Pe– Peach," Strawberry said softly, "No, please don't cry, sweetie."

But Peach couldn't help it. She wept on Strawberry's shoulder. Strawberry tried to use the energy she had left to reach up and touch her daughter's cheek.

"There, there. It'll be okay," Strawberry smiled weakly.

"No it won't," Peach moaned, "Just how in the world did all of this happen?"

"Well… I– I heard that th– the furnace of the building was old–d and thus it exploded," Strawberry replied as best as she could.

Peach was staring sadly at her dying mother. Was this really happening? Was it all because the furnace of the building was old?

"Mother…"

Even with all the pain and suffering, Strawberry still managed to smile.

"G– good bye, Daughter. I w– will miss you. K– keep the Kingdom happy."

"No!! Please don't go Mother! Please!"

"Oh no! Your Highness!" Toad exclaimed.

"We're losing her!" the near by Toadish doctor said, panicked.

It was the last moment for Peach to see her mother. Strawberry lied still on the bed, not moving an inch. Still tearing, Peach slowly put her hand above her mother's eyes. Her hands were shaky with grief. After moving her hands from her mother's face, Peach saw that her mother's eyes were closed.

Strawberry was dead.


	20. The Aftershock

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach, the Muhsroom Kingdom, Daisy, Bowser, and the Koopa Empire (C) Nintendo.

Strawberry, Lily, Mariam, Zetroid, Zetoridians, Keft Gholt, and Ulyanovsk (the nation) (C) me.

**The Aftershock**

The news about Queen Strawberry's death spread like wildfire. Soon mourning was heard from every corner of the kingdom. The era of peace was over. Sadness plagued Mushroomers of all sorts.

Peach was especially sad. No one could blame her. The Queen was her beloved mother after all. Now Peach was under the realization that both of her parents were gone. She also felt sad for Aunt Lily.

But obviously, Princess Daisy was much more sad about the death of Lily, since she was Lily's daughter. When Daisy first found out the bad news, she was disbelieving at first, but she wept a lot when she saw the corpse of her mother. Lily's body was obliterated. Strawberry was much better off than Lily from the terrible accident. It was too ugly to be described. Daisy was the type of woman who barely cried, but obviously, ever woman had her soft spot. The other Sarasans also mourned over Queen Lily.

And at the Koopa Empire, everyone was saddened by the death of Queen Mariam. Many considered her a really great queen. Bowser was especially saddened. When he found out, he roared in grief. When Mariam was still alive, Bowser and Mariam had lots of kids; eight kids to be exact. But most of them were too young to understand death. So Bowser didn't know what to say to them. Sooner or later, the children would know that their mother was in a better place.

The funerals of Queen Strawberry, Lily, and Mariam were coincidently on the same day; the tenth of March, three days after the Queens died. It was a truly sad day. And the sadness didn't seem to go away for a long while. Depression sunk into many. It would be a long while before any of the three nations would be back to normal.

But the surprising part was that there was festivity in some places after the deaths of Lily and Strawberry. None of the Mushroomers or Sarasans actually found out about this because the festivities took place in two ultramodern nations.

One of the ultramodern nations was Zetroid. Keft Gholt found out about Strawberry's death from the Sergeant Nater Ezta, who used spies to get information from the Mushroom Kingdom.

Keft Gholt was very happy when he found out the Strawberry was dead. Gholt then exclaimed proudly how her death would benefit Zetroid in public.

The second ultramodern nation who celebrated was Ulyanovsk, the same alien nation that Yule's father was briefly mentioning. When they found out from reconnaissance personnel, the Ulyans were happy that Queen Lily was dead. Their people celebrated. It seemed that there were unknown issues between the Sarasa Kingdom and Ulyanovsk as the Mushroom Kingdom had between Zetroid.


	21. The Koopas Strike

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland, Koopa Empire, Peach, Daisy, Bowser, ths Koopas, Toad, Kamak, and Piranha Plants (C) Nintendo.

Strawberry, Mariam, Toadstine, Heft Grom, and Henry Edwin (C) me.

**The Koopas Strike **

Many month passed by every since the deaths of the Queens of the Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasa Kingdom, and the Koopa Empire. Princess Peach now ruled the Mushroom Kingdom, which was politically called the Mushroom Principality since Peach was still a princess and not a queen. In order for her to be a queen, she would have to be married. And in a similar way, Princess Daisy was ruler of the Sarasa Kingdom, which was politically called the Sarasan Principality. The Koopa Empire was still ruled by King Bowser as always, except he wasn't accompanied by his beloved queen anymore.

Bowser was in deep thoughts for days ever since the deaths of his wife faded away. Of course, Bowser would still remember her, but apparently, her death didn't have as much grief as it did when she was found dead. It was in the middle of August and Bowser was thinking, plotting. He thought of finally taking over the Mushroom Kingdom, since Strawberry was dead. Also, Toadstine and Heft Gron were dead too; that would take care of major military people. And on top of that, the Prime Minister Henry Edwin was also dead from the accident. It was the perfect opportunity for Bowser to take over the Mushroom Kingdom.

Finally making his decision, Bowser made an announcement to the citizens of his empire. The Koopas, Goombas, and other beasts who inhabited the empire gathered to listen.

"Koopas, Goombas, and other monsters," Bowser started, "I think that it was about time that we take over the pathetic Mushroom Kingdom! Who's with me?"

All the inhabitants cheered on, indicating that they agreed.

"Excellent!" Bowser laughed, "We shall take the Mushroom Kingdom over in memory of the beloved Queen Mariam, my lovely wife."

There was more cheering. The Koopas and others were in great support of this.

"The Mushroom Kingdom has been weakened a lot since many important figures have died from the terrible accident."

"But what about that Princess?" one of the Koopas called out.

"Princess Peach you mean?" Bowser said, laughing, "I don't think we will have to worry about her yet. And even if she does get in our way, we will just imprison her."

"How will this invasion start?" a Goomba asked.

Bowser was thinking manically during the long pause.

"Hmm… I think I know what to do…" Bowser laughed.

Peach was in the Mushroom Palace (which these days was usually nicknamed 'Peach's Castle') doing some of her daily errands since she was the sole ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom now. Peach still missed her dear mother, but she accepted her mother's death a few months ago. She didn't feel as bad about her being gone; she felt that Strawberry was in a better and safer place.

And ever since, Peach had been a little more happy than at late March. Now it was August, but it was pretty pleasant for August. There was a nice cool breeze outside and the sun shone nicely in the sky; it didn't pound its dreaded summer rays on the Kingdom.

Finishing her errands, Peach felt she needed to relax for a bit outside. So she went into the beautiful courtyard just to have some fresh air. While outside, Peach was starting to have random thoughts. One of those thoughts was if she was every going to find the man of her dreams. She felt it was too sudden to think about it, but the idea came to her anyway. Another thought she had was her vampire life. She suddenly noticed that she feasted less than ever; and it had been happening ever since her mother died. Peach recalled in her mind that she feasted around once every two months. She was a little curious if having a victim every two months was unhealthy for a vampire.

Could it be possible that her body was rejecting her vampire characteristics; in other words, turning into a human? Since she was good in the fields of biology and genetics at her Royal Academy, she denied that she was turning into a human; she doubted that her vampire genes, wherever they were, could not possibly change in the middle of her life. Hopefully, the way that she was living her secret life as a vampire would be fine with no problems in the future.

Other thoughts Peach had in the courtyard at that moment were, obviously, thoughts about her mother, and oddly enough, thoughts about King Bowser Koopa. For some apparent reason, Peach had a bad vibe relating to the Koopas. Could the Koopas be planning to attack after all these years? Peach didn't want to think of the possibility.

But to her most terrible apprehension, Toad came running towards Peach with bad news. Peach had a feeling it was about the Koopas.

"Princess! You won't believe it!" Toad started, "I've got news that the Koopas attacked!"

"Really!" Peach exclaimed, "Where did they attach?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I heard that they invaded the Grasslands, the Mushroom Hills, and the Highlands."

"Oh no! Those areas are so close to here! What do we do!?"

"Toadsworth went the Prime Minister Tom Michaels to see if there were people willing the fight the Koopas off."

Tom Michaels was the former Vice Prime Minister. The Grasslands, Mushroom Hills, and Highlands were all nearby provinces of the province Peach lived in, called Starman Fields. If the Koopas manage to get into Starman Fields, then the Kingdom could be doomed. All Peach could do was stay at her castle with the guards that were available and hope the Koopas didn't come the Starman Fields.

"Toad, do you know if the Koopas did anything bad to the people who lived in the Grasslands and other places they invaded?" Peach asked.

"Oh dear. Um… I think you will freak out form this. But I'll say it anyway.

"I heard that the Koopas turned those who resisted into stones, bricks, and even mushrooms!"

Peach gasped. Though she wasn't too surprised that the Koopas were able to do such things since they had dark magic. It was just bad enough to Peach that it happened in the first place. She couldn't help but panic even more.

Though fortunately, Peach did discover from her priest a few weeks ago that she had certain magical powers that could reverse a few of the Koopas dark tricks, but not a lot of them. Peach hoped that if she was ever to get to the people who turned to stone, she could turn them back to normal with her magic.

"You had a bad dream, Sire?"

Bowser was in his throne room, excited from the victories he was getting from invading the Mushroomers, but now he was also a little worried for a peculiar reason. Bowser just had a bad dream and was talking to Kamak about it.

"Yes. I think this is a prophecy. Here's what happened. I had an image of that rascal Princess Peach breaking my evil spell that turned some foolish Mushroomers into stone. If she's truly able to do that, then she's a threat!"

"I see what you mean, Sire," Kamak said, "I suggest that we capture her as soon as possible."

"Great idea! We'll do a sneak attack on her castle!" Bowser laughed.

It was a few hours later at Peach's Castle. Some guards were sent to protect the Princess and Royal Retainers. Peach was praying to the Stars for safety. Toad was near her in the throne room. Besides Toad, there were six other Royal Retainers who were Toadish males with similar appearances to Toad. They all kept close. The retainers and the Princess were quietly talking about the latest events and news related to the new Koopa invasion.

But suddenly everyone heard crashing noises, marches, and glass breaking. Following that was screaming. The Koopas barged into Peach's Castle and defeated all the guards so quickly that some people didn't know what was happening. But Peach knew, and she was more fearful than ever. Her pale skin was an indication of that. She completely forgot about everything except for the fact that Koopas were attacking. One of the Koopa troops who looked like the commander of the group pointed his spear at Peach. Peach gulped. The seven retainers surrounded her for protection.

"Seize her!" the Koopa commander commended.

The Koopa Troopas pointed their spears towards the retainers and princess.

"There's no way you'll get your hands on the Princess!" one of the retainers exclaimed bravely.

"Oh really?" the Koopa commander said, "Troops! You know what to do!"

The Koopa Troopas dropped their spears and literally just went up to the retainers and beat them up. They were quickly pacified and were now in Koopa clutches. Only poor Peach was left.

"No! Don't hurt them!" Peach exclaimed.

The Koopa commander laughed.

"All right, all right. Just come with up to the Koopa Fortress and we won't hurt them."

But Peach wasn't so convinced about that. She looked all around for a way to escape, but then she would have left her assistants behind; she didn't want that.

Eventually being bored of standing there, the Koopas grabbed Peach and took her down. Peach didn't even have a thought of defending herself with the unique powers she discovered years ago. She did try to hit, slap, kick, anything to the get the Koopas off of her.

"Help me!! No! Let me go!" Peach cried.

The Koopas easily tied her up, even thought she resisted as much as possible. She felt powerless. She was afraid. She felt that she had failed to help her people. Cloth was tied around Peach's mouth so that nothing but muffling sounds came from her. But the commander looked rather annoyed by Peach's muffled pleas for help, so he took his fist and hit her hard on the head. The retainers watched in horror as their beloved princess fell unconscious.

"That's much better," the commander said, "Now we won't have to hear her annoying moans anymore."

All the retainers looked with hatred at the commander. Who could blame them? The Koopa just whacked Peach hard on the head. If Strawberry were still alive, she would have been horrified. Eventually, the Koopas just left Peach's Castle as it was and took the new hostages to the Koopa Fortress. Once there, the retainers were all sent to seven different prison castles that were newly built throughout the invaded lands. But the Koopa commander wanted to show Bowser the precious Princess. That evening, the Koopa commander came up to Bowser, who was in the throne room.

"Sire," the commander started, "I have some wonderful news!"

"Really?" said Bowser, who looked rather festive, "What happened?"

"Me and my troops assaulted the Mushroom Palace."

"Really? Wow! This is a surprise. Now the pathetic Mushroom Kingdom is truly mine!"

Bowser let out a terrible evil laugh.

"Continue," Bowser said, smirking.

"Yes, Sire. Our other good news was that we have a gift for you, from you loyal subjects."

"A gift? Interesting. What is it?"

"Bring her here," the commander said to some Koopas behind him.

Afterward, a group of Koopa Troopa carried Princess Peach unconscious to the Koopa King. Bowser was defiantly happy afterward.

"Wow! This is wonderful! The sweet wittle Princess Peachy being in our clutches. Excellent work Commander!"

"It is always a pleasure to serve you, Sire," the commander said bowing.

"Oh, and by the way, how is she unconscious? I really wouldn't mind seeing her awake."

"Well, let's just say that she was getting annoying."

"Oh, okay. Makes sense. Hmm… I'm thinking of what we should do to her now."

"Feed her to the Piranha Plants!" some Koopas cheered.

The Piranha Plants were inhabitant plants of the Koopa Empire who were known for being man-eating and had a similar appearance to super-enlarged Venus Flytraps, except that they were more rounded and usually red.

"Hmm… That would be entertaining to watch," said Bowser, "But I had something else in mind."

Bowser thought for a while.

"Hmm… well, I guess that we will just have to put her in our heavily secured dungeon. I'll think of something later when we truly have her kingdom under our control."

And with that, the vulnerable Princess Peach was imprisoned in a large prison complex relatively near the fortress. Peach was still unconscious and unaware of the potential dangers of the Koopas.

This was indeed a terrible day for the Mushroomers, and defiantly for Peach. Who could possibly be able to match up to the Koopas now?


	22. The Mario Brothers

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Mario, Luigi, Mushroom City, Starman, Muhsroom Kingdom, Koopas, Koopa Empire, Princess Peach, and Toadsworth (C) Nintendo.

Mario & Luigi's parents and the Dark Land Buffer Zone (C) me.

_Note:__ Most people believe that the last name of Mario and Luigi is 'Mario'. In this novel, their last name is 'Tricocci'._

**The Mario Brothers**

It had been several years since Mario's father passed away. But he wasn't worried about that at all. A few years ago, Mario's mother died from an infection that no one knew about. It was terrible for Mario and Luigi at that time, but now they accepted their mother's death just as Peach accepted her mother's death. Fortunately for Mario and Luigi, they were mature adults now and could handle themselves. Both were around their early or mid-twenties. Both worked as plumbers, so they got a satisfactory amount of money. Mario still wore red while Luigi wore green. But now both also wore blue denim overalls, white gloves, brown workers' shoes, and plumbers' caps corresponding to their color; Mario's bring red and Luigi's being green. They both grew old-fashion, urban-style mustaches as well.

They lived in an urban townhouse near the hustle and bustle of Mushroom City. The brothers tried to keep their place as clean as possible, but it always didn't look that great enough for them, considering that they were living in the poor part of town.

And being in the city, Mario found it unusual that he ended up the middle of the forest. How did he get there? Mario looked all around but could find no sign of urban activity. Where was he? He started walking around the forest for a bit; Mario was the kind of person who didn't mind exploring and adventuring, if he had the time of course. Then suddenly Mario saw a source of light in the dark forest, like a twinkling star. Mario decided to follow the light but noticed that the light was getting farther and farther. Mario started to make a nice smooth dash towards the twinkling light. Then he suddenly heard voices. They were very faint and sounded feminine, like the voice of an innocent woman.

"Help me… Help me… Help me… Mario…" the voice was saying.

"Mama mia!" Mario thought aloud, "Does that voice know me?"

Now Mario was making a faster dash towards the drifting light, which seemed to be going towards the helpless voice. To his surprise, Mario made it out of the edge of the forest and saw a woman clad in pink being hung by a tentacle. The tentacle was green and had spikes on it. Then Mario saw the drifting light above the woman and tentacle and recognized it as a Starman. Mario was trying to recognize the woman when he suddenly appeared back in his bedroom. Luigi was standing besides his bed.

"Mario, are you alright?" Luigi asked.

"Huh? What happened?" Mario said dumbly.

"Bro, I think you were having a dream."

"A dream? Hmm… Yes! I did! It was unusual, Luigi."

"What happened?"

"I was in this forest, when I suddenly saw a light. I followed the light and then I heard a woman's voice saying 'Help me Mario.'"

"Really?"

"Yeah. And then I started to run more and I find this beautiful woman in a pink dress being hanged by a tentacle of some sort."

"Oh my! That's a terrible dream!"

"Oh yeah, I also forgot to say that the light was really a Starman."

"A Starman, huh? What would a Starman be doing in your dream, Bro?"

"I have no clue."

There was a pause. Luigi seemed to remember something.

"Oh yeah. I was here to tell you some crazy news," Luigi said.

"Crazy news?"

"Yeah, it's everywhere. I heard it from the radio. They said that the Koopas attacked the northern portions of the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"Mama mia! Are you serious, Luigi? What else happened?"

"Well, I also heard that they captured Princess Peach Toadstool. She's a hostage now!"

Neither brother knew much about Princess Peach. Though they knew her enough to have a sense of respect for her, just like almost every other Mushroomer. They have only seen her a few times on newspaper articles. Mario admitted that she looked sort of pretty at that time. They also had the idea that Princess Peach was ruling the Kingdom pretty well after her mother's death (the brothers obviously knew about Strawberry's death since it was national news). So one could easily notice that the brothers were very worried. Most other Mushroomers were also worried; with the Heir to the Throne gone, who would rule the Kingdom? And the brothers were aware about the Koopas' wrath since their father was killed by them. Mario was thinking quickly.

"This is terrible, Luigi! With the Princess gone and lands invaded, the Koopas will surely have this kingdom and we will all be doomed!"

They both panicked; Luigi more than Mario. After a moment though, Mario was starting to think again.

"Hey Bro," Mario started, "Do you think my dream has a connection with this catastrophe?"

"Your dream? Do you think so?"

After thinking a few more seconds, Mario slapped himself on the forehead, realizing that he was too dim-witted not to realize something about the dream earlier.

"My goodness! How could I be so dumb?"

"What, Mario?"

"Luigi, you remember that woman in my dream?"

"Yeah… What about her?"

"Luigi, don't you get it? That's Princess Peach! The woman being hanged was Princess Peach."

Luigi just realized the message of the dream.

"Ohhhhhh… Now I get it."

"And also, the voice was of that woman. That voice was saying 'Help me Mario.' That must've been the Princess saying that!"

"I hope you're _not_ thinking what I'm thinking."

"We must go there and save her! That's what you were thinking, no?"

"What!? Wait, wait, Bro… Can we talk about this for a moment? I mean, I know it would be heroic if we actually _went_ there and kicked Koopa tail, but I don't think–"

Interrupting Luigi's talk, Mario suddenly jumped off the bed and ran to his closet to pick his clothes. Then he dashed to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and changed his clothes. Then he dashed to the small kitchen and gobbled down a small bowl full of pasta as his breakfast. Luigi came in looking nervous.

"Bro! Please, let's not get ourselves hurt now!" said Luigi.

"But Luigi. Come on. Don't'cha remember that one time we were asked that favor to save the neighbor's cat?"

"Oh no! Not that! That was horrible."

"Oh come on, Bro. It wasn't that bad. All we did was search the forest on the edge of the city and ended up getting the cat back after seeing some odd creatures there."

"Those creatures were the worst part! They were scary! And how did the cat even manage to get to the forest anyway?"

"Who knows? But see, the point is that I personally believe that we can handle this."

"Where did you get _that_ sort of idea from? Bro, I know that you're a very brave guy and would love to have an adventure, but don't'cha think this is a little_too_ dangerous?"

"Too dangerous? That's the best part!" Mario said excitedly.

"Oh brother," Luigi shrugged, "Oh… alright. I'll come with you."

"Yahoo! What are we waiting for? Let's-a go!"

And with that, Mario and Luigi got ready to leave their townhouse. Out in the city that seemed to be in panic now, Luigi was wondering about something.

"Bro, I know we are daring enough to attempt to save this kingdom, but where do we start?" Luigi asked.

"That's a good question, Luigi" Mario said, "Hmm… I suppose we should see what happened at the Mushroom Palace."

"Mushroom Palace? But that's too far away."

"Ah, don't worry. We have our car. We'll just drive there."

With that, Mario and Luigi went to the garage right by the townhouse and went into their red car. The car was a little run down and old, but at least it still worked. Mario started the engine and got his map and compass ready. They left Mushroom City, not knowing of the potential dangers outside. The city was the safest place for now. But they were out, so now something bad was bound to happen.

And something did happen. When Mario and Luigi were driving on the valleys of Starman Fields, their car suddenly stopped. Mario calculated that they were roughly close to Peach's Castle. Mario and Luigi went outside and found that all four tires popped. They saw spikes behind the car.

"Oh, great. I knew this was a bad idea," Luigi complained.

"Mama mia! Where did all of these spikes come from?" Mario wondered.

Soon after, the brothers heard marching. They saw a small group of Koopas with spears walking towards them.

"Hey you! You humans better come here or you'll be sorry!" one of the Koopas yelled.

"Mama mia! Let's run for it!" Luigi told Mario.

Mario and Luigi tried to run away from the Koopas, but they were chasing them. Some of them stopped by the brothers' car and smashed it into scrap-metal. Fortunately for Mario, he still had the map and compass.

"Don't let them get away!" one of the Koopas yelled.

Mario and Luigi kept on running and running. They felt that the Koopas were catching up to them. They ended up running into a small forest. Mario grabbed Luigi and went into the bushes of the forest. The Koopas apparently lost the brothers.

"They went that way!" one the Koopas yelled, pointing at a direction that was virtually opposite of where Mario and Luigi were.

"Phew… That was close," said Mario.

"But our car is broken now, Bro," Luigi sighed.

"I know. Such a shame. I guess that we will just have to walk all the way to the Castle. We'll keep close together."

"Okay."

And with that, Mario and Luigi left the small forest and continued to follow the same path the Peach's Castle that they would have followed if they still had their car.

It took roughly an hour to make it to their destination on foot. Luigi was already getting a little exhausted, but he had enough energy to continue. When Mario and Luigi made to the Castle, they were surprised to see that there were no Koopas around, as if they just carelessly left the castle behind after attacking it. They felt that they shouldn't, but they entered the castle anyway. The place was sort of a mess. There were a few dead bodies and pieces of glass everywhere.

Mario heard noises, indicating that there were other people in the castle. The brothers took caution.

"Who's there?" an elderly voice called out.

Mario and Luigi ended up in the throne room. Earlier the brothers marveled at the magnificent palace where the Princess would reside. They were even more at awe when they made it into the throne room. It was beautiful with blue ceiling and nice tiling. The ceiling had clouds painted on them, as if it were making a scenery of the typical view of the wonderful grasslands. The throne itself was beautiful; carefully designed with neat patterns and the emblem of the kingdom; it was fit for a queen.

Mario and Luigi noticed a few people in the throne room. Fortunately, they were not Koopas. They were all Toadish men. One of them was Toadsworth; he was surprised to see random visitors in the castle. The elderly voice was from Toadsworth.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Toadsworth said to the brothers, "I am quite curious to know what you are doing here in such a crisis that you should have already been evacuated to Sarasaland."

Mario and Luigi knew that Sarasaland was just another name for the Sarasa Kingdom, but they didn't know that people evacuated.

"People have evacuated?" Mario asked.

"Yes, fine sir. We could only manage to evacuate the people of Poner Coast and Stardust Fields for now. We were going to plan to get more people evacuated."

Poner Coast was the province where Mushroom City was built on, so that's where Mario and Luigi were coming from.

"Just who are you guys anyway?" a Toadish asked, "You should have been evacuated like Sir Toadsworth said."

"Well, um… we are the Tricocci Brothers and we decided that maybe we could help, um… fight off the Koopas." Mario explained nervously.

Most of the Toadish men stared at the brothers weirdly. Toadsworth was the only one who actually looked concerned.

"Fight off the Koopas!? Do you realize how dangerous that is? You can get hurt; or even worse…" Toadsworth said.

"We are aware of that," said Mario, "We felt that me and Luigi here would be able to handle this. Don't worry about us."

"Are you sure?" said Toadsworth, "You know it is now too late to head to safety."

"I'm sure we'll be alright, Sir. Oh, I forgot to introduce our names. My name's Mario. And you know he's Luigi."

"It is nice to meet the both of you," said Toadsworth.

One could tell that Toadsworth was a very polite person.

"We were curious to know, but where exactly is the Princess right now?" said Luigi.

"Well," said Toadsworth, "From what I have heard, I believe that those scoundrels took the poor Princess to their newly made prison complex that stands a little beyond the Dark Land Buffer Zone."

"Dark Land Buffer Zone, huh?"

While Luigi was talking to the Toadish, Mario was curiously walking forward when he found something blue lying on the floor near the throne. Mario picked it up. It was a round, pretty sapphire earring, presumably the Princess's. After looking at it for a moment, Mario truly realized how important it was to save the Princess. He made a vow in his mind to save her at all costs while keeping his brother safe as well. Then he secretly kept the earring in his pocket, hoping to return it to the Princess if he ended up saving her.

Luigi came up to Mario.

"Hey Bro, those guys back there pointed out an estimated spot of were the prison could be on our map," said Luigi.

"Excellent," said Mario. He turned to Toadsworth. "It's been nice meeting you all. We'll be off now."

"Good day, Mr. Tricocci!" said Toadsworth, "I wish the two of you the best of luck."

After saying their farewells to the Toadish, Mario and Luigi started their quest to rescue the Princess. They hoped for the best and to make it out alive.


	23. An Adventurous Rescue

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Characters, items, and places (C) Nintendo.

An Adventurous Rescue

Around the same time Mario and Luigi were being chased by Koopas, Peach opened her eyes after being hit unconscious from the previous day. She saw nothing but black; it was a dark room. But there was only one spotlight above her; she felt that it was safest under the spotlight since she didn't know what was in the darkness all around her. She was pretty disappointed about it actually, because of the fact that she was a vampire. Shouldn't she have been able to see well in the dark? Apparently, that wasn't the case at the moment, which only made her more afraid still. Where exactly was she anyway? All she could do was kneel on the ground and hope that nothing would attack her unexpectedly.

After waiting a while, a white rectangle suddenly appeared distant but in front of Peach. It was bright; Peach realized shortly that it was a doorway into a room that was obviously brighter than the room she was in. Bowser came in. Peach was immediately awake; she was facing her worst nightmare. She became pale in fear again like before and gulped. She completely forgot that she was a vampire and had a slight chance of scaring Bowser. He was smirking seeing Peach so afraid.

"Ah, my lovely little Princess! How are you this fine day?" Bowser said in a vile tone.

Peach looked with fear and anger at Bowser.

"Where have you taken me?" Peach demanded in a fearful tone.

"Well… let's just say that you're _not_ in my splendid fortress. Who know what could have happened to you if you were in there."

Peach gulped again, then tried to face Bowser, but was always avoiding his mischievous eyes.

"Hmm… I must say Princess, you're quite the good-looking young lady, just like your mother was."

Peach continued to stare at Bowser with the same scared and angered expression.

"Hmm… Not much of a talker, are you? You realize that your pathetic kingdom is now mine, right?"

Peach seemed to realize such a thing and then Bowser noticed a teardrop rolling from her eyes.

"How? Just how?" Peach said softly, "How could you do this? Why do you wish of this? What have we inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom ever done to you?"

"Ah, I see that we are actually starting to talk now. Excellent. Well… I guess I couldn't really answer your dumb questions though."

More teardrops came from Peach.

"W– what have I done that made your people attack me?"

"Well, let's just say that you are a potential threat to us. So naturally, we would have wanted to imprison you. You can thank me that I gave you enough mercy to merely put you into this room. Otherwise, my folk were telling me that they wanted to feed the Piranha Plants with something sweet, tender, and juicy, like you for example."

Peach felt like she was going to faint, but instead she gasped once again. She wondered if the horror of being here and being tortured like this would ever end. She definitely didn't want to imagine herself being eaten by a Piranha Plant. She was shaking in fear as Bowser continued to talk.

"Well, I guess that's all I had to say, for now. So good day to you, my Princess.

"Oh, and by the way. You will realize that you cannot possibly leave this room since the lock for this door can only be controlled from the outside. There is no escape!"

And with that, Bowser turned around and left the room in which Peach was imprisoned. Peach didn't know what to expect at this point. She couldn't help but imagine the possible ways and even unlikely way that the Koopas could enjoy torturing her. All she could do now was kneel once again, put her hands on her face, and weep softly to sleep.

"Wow, Bro. That was impressive!"

Mario and Luigi were in the Grasslands continuing to follow their route to their final destination. Just earlier, another small group of Koopas tried to get their hands on the brothers, but Mario had the odd instinct of stomping on the closest Koopa then kicking it. The results were beneficial; the Koopa who was stomped went into its shell and when Mario kicked the shell, the shell dashed to the other Koopas, wiping them out. There were also a few Goombas nearby who were knocked out by the dashing shell as well.

"Thanks, Luigi," Mario replied to Luigi's previous comment.

"How often will these bad guys come anyway?" Luigi asked.

"Well, I guess since the north portion or maybe the whole kingdom for all we know might be in Koopa possession, we'll probably have to fight a lot of enemies for while."

Walking more along a path, Mario and Luigi discover two floating blocks levitating in midair. Each block was roughly larger than the brothers' heads. They were golden yellow and had a question mark encrypted on them. Mario and Luigi were dumbfounded by these unusual things.

"What are they?" Luigi wondered.

"Hmm… let's see that happens then we touch them."

So Mario took his hand and tried to reach up and touch one of the blocks, since both blocks were floating above the brothers' heads. For a short person, Mario didn't have a problem reaching the high-placed block. He and his brother were known for their super-special jumping techniques, though their abilities weren't widely known. Mario touched the block several times, but nothing happened.

"That's odd," said Mario, "Nothing's happening."

"Maybe you should hit it with something harder."

After taking this to consideration, Mario tried to think what he could possible hit it with. Eventually, Mario suggested to himself to use his head, even though that seemed very unusual. After bonking his head on the block, the block suddenly turned into a brown floating block; the golden color was gone. And something came out from the block and landed on the ground. Mario picked it up. The object was a Super Mushroom, though Mario and Luigi weren't aware of it.

"What is it?" said Luigi.

"Hmm… it's defiantly a mushroom of some sort. Should I eat it?"

"I think you shouldn't, Bro. What if it's poisonous?"

But the Mushroom suddenly released an indulging scent that Mario didn't seem to resist. He ate the mushroom, not stuffing it in his mouth though. A moment later, Mario felt much different from before.

"Wow, Luigi! I feel much stronger every since I ate that mushroom."

"Really? Let's see if there is something like that in the other weird block."

Luigi went under the other golden block and hit it with his head like Mario. And just like before, the block turned brown and something came out. Luckily for Luigi, it was another Super Mushroom. Luigi ate it and felt the same results as Mario did.

"Wow! You're right, Mario. This stuff does make you feel stronger."

"We would be really lucky if we found more of these things."

With their new energy, Mario and Luigi continued on with their quest to save the Princess.

But the brothers weren't aware that they were being watched. A Koopa spy ran to Bowser to give him a report after spying on the Tricocci Brothers from a bush.

"Your Majesty, I have discovered terrible news!" the spy was saying.

"What!? I have no time for terrible news! How can anything wrong possibly happen?" Bowser growled.

"Well, Sire. I found these two men in plumber clothing walking towards our empire. And they have defeated all or our troops who fought them so far!"

Bowser was shocked for the first time in a while. It was just like the prophetical dream that Bowser had years ago about the Tricocci Brothers.

"What!? This can't be happening! It's just like my premonition said. There would be two plumbers who would defeat me!"

"What do we do?"

"Hmm… I have a plan. I think I would know the path that those annoying plumber boys are going. Along the path are seven prison castles. I want you to send seven different minions, use dark magic to make them look like me, then send one to each castle. Disguising the seven minions should intimidate those brothers. If all seven minions are defeated though, then I will have to step in and clean those plumbers' pipes."

"In other words, you will finish them off?"

"Why, of course, you idiot! Why else would I want to intimidate them and try to destroy them. Now get to work!!"

"Yes, Sire!" the spy flinched.

And with that, Bowser devised his plan. Now he had to wait for the brothers to enter the first castle.

Meanwhile somewhere in the middle of the Grasslands, Mario and Luigi had discovered many things they considered useful and convenient on their journey. The brothers found easier ways of defeating some of the enemies, like Koopas and Goombas. All they had to do was stomp on them. It seemed easy, but they didn't want to underestimate the Koopas. There were other enemies that they couldn't kill as easily, like Piranha Plants. Some Piranha Plants appeared out of giant green pipes that were sticking out around various parts of the Grasslands. All Mario and Luigi could do was avoiding the Piranha Plants. The brothers have also found more of the unusual golden blocks that the brothers started to call 'Question Blocks'. Luckily for them, some of the blocks revealed Super Mushrooms, which Luigi kept in a backpack that he was carrying with him. Most other question blocks that the brothers found mostly revealed a Mushroom Coin, the currency of the Mushroom Kingdom. Luigi also kept those in his backpack.

Then one time, the brother encountered another question block floating by itself. This one would reveal something unique. Mario hit the block and they noticed that a Fire Flower popped out. But just like with the Super Mushrooms, the brothers were not so aware what the Fire Flower was. But they didn't have time to wonder. Mario took the flower and a sudden blast of fire came out of it.

"Wow! That can shoot fire, Mario!"

"I know. This is so cool!"

Later, Mario was testing the flower's abilities. He felt in control when he shot out small fireballs by lightly squeezing the flower's stem. They would bounce off the ground while proceeding towards a target.

The brothers were lucky that they found the Fire Flower. Walking some more along the path while easily defeating enemies, the brothers encountered a large brown castle. It looked pretty medieval. Luigi recognized the castle on the map.

"Hey, this is one of those seven castles that Sir Toadsworth was telling me about. These castles have a Royal Retainer imprisoned inside," Luigi explained.

"Hmm… I suppose that we should save him then," Mario suggested.

And with that, the brothers bravely entered the castle. Luigi was a little nervous but not as nervous as Mario would have thought. That was good enough.

Inside the castle was dark and spooky. The whole place was composed of brick and there was barely any lighting in the building. The brothers saw all sort of obstacles, from lava pits to brown blocks that produced fire whips. Luckily for the brothers, their jumping skills allowed them to avoid these obstacles. When the brothers were nearly at the other end of the building, the brothers saw a few spits of fire flying towards them. They avoided these easily as well. Then they made it to the other end of the castle. They were in a room that was divided by a river of lava. At the other end of the lava river was a lock that looked like a release switch and a door next to it. There was a makeshift bridge of stone between the two ends of the room. On the bridge was a creature that seemed to look like Bowser. Mario and Luigi were horrified.

"The King of the Koopas!" Luigi exclaimed, "Here!?"

"Mama mia!" Mario exclaimed, "What is he doing here? Did he know we were coming?"

"Bwahahahaha!" the creature laughed, "You fools think that you can defeat me, the Great Bowser? We'll see about that!"

Mario and Luigi were stunned that they were face-to-face with the King of the Koopas. Immediately, the monster spat fireballs and fire breath. Mario and Luigi tried to dodge them, but Mario got burned on his left hand. Luigi healed him easily with the extra Super Mushrooms that they had.

Mario noticed how the creature would occasionally jump really high to increase intimidation. Mario then had an idea.

"Hey," Mario whispered to Luigi, "I think I know that to do. You see him jumping like that?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I say that next time he does that, we dash as fast as we can to the other end of the bridge."

"Sounds like a good idea."

They wait for the next jump. When the monster did jump, Mario and Luigi run as fast as their legs could carry them. They ran right under him!

"What's this? You can't possibly try to avoid me! I'll kill you!"

Mario looked at the lock curiously while Luigi looked at the beast with fear.

"Mario! Do something!"

Following his instincts, Mario pulled on the lock. Something special happened. The lock seemed to make the stone bridge fall apart. And the beast coming after the brothers was on it. Now with the bridge gone, the monster fell into the lava river, dying.

"Wow! He's dead already!?" Luigi said surprisingly.

"Hmm… It seems too sudden, Bro. Don't you think there is a catch to this?"

Mario observed the corpse on the lava river. It didn't look like Bowser at all, it looked like a Goomba!

"What!? I thought Bowser was there. Not a Goomba!" Luigi exclaimed.

"I have a bad feeling that these creatures can make themselves look like Bowser when they're really not."

"Oh no!"

"Yep, Luigi. Bowser's not dead yet."

Letting go of his disappointment rather quickly, Mario looked at the door. He supposed that the lock that he pulled on also unlocked the door as well. He opened the door. He and Luigi entered.

They saw nothing but darkness. The only thing they could see was a spotlight shining in the middle of the room. Sitting in the light was a Toadish male. He must have been one of the Royal Retainers. The retainer looked with surprise to see two curious plumbers enter.

"Huh? Are you guys here to save me?" the retainer asked.

"Yeah," said Mario, "You can trust us. We were going to save the Princess, but we decided to save some others like you along the way. Oh, and we are the Tricocci Brothers. I'm Mario and he's Luigi."

"It's nice to meet you both. Thank you so much for saving me! But the Princess in another castle!"

"Hmm… it seemed obvious, we are no where near our destination yet," said Mario looking at the map, "How do we get you home?"

"Do you have a Starman?" said the retainer, "The Starman can teleport me home with no problem."

"A Starman? I fear we don't have any of those," Luigi said.

"Oh don't worry," the retainer said "I'm sure that we might find one along your journey to save the Princess. You know about the Question Blocks, right?"

"Yeah, we know those things," said Luigi.

While talking, the place started to shake suddenly.

"This place is going to fall! Let's get out of here!" Mario exclaimed.

The trio ran out of the castle, which they see collapse to the ground once they made it out.

"Another close call," Luigi shrugged tiredly.

"Why did the place suddenly fall apart?" Mario wondered.

"Well, I guess that it has something to do with that switch. But that's just me. Oh well, let's get going," said the retainer.

The trio traveled beyond the ruins of the castle that they just infiltrated. After fighting off a few more Koopas and Goombas, the trio found a question block. Mario hit this and something came out that was more special than any other item that they ever saw come out. It was a Starman! It illuminated beautifully.

"Wow! It's beautiful," said Luigi.

"Yes! We found a Starman!" the retainer said excitedly, "Now be aware that when you save the others, you will have to find more Starmen to teleport them to safety."

"So what do we do with it?" Mario asked.

"It will teleport me soon. So I wish the both of you the best of luck. Good bye!"

"Bye-bye!" said Luigi.

Soon after, the Starman shone a ray of bright light to the retainer that made the retainer disappear, obviously to safety. Mario and Luigi stared at the Starman with awe as it started to hover around. Mario became a little curious again and held the Starman, wanting to know what would happen. The Starman glowed and seemed to disappear into Mario. Then Mario started to glow all over and glittery particles of light were being emitted off him as well.

"Wow! You're glowing Mario!"

"Yeah. This is so cool! Let's-a go!"

But soon, a Koopa was sneaking behind them. The Koopa tried to jump on Mario. Mario turned around, fearing that he would be caught, but the moment that the Koopa merely touched him, the Koopa flew the other way and became unconscious, as if Mario punched him, but Mario didn't punched him.

"How in the world did that happen!?" Luigi exclaimed, "He just touched you and get instantly gets knocked out!"

Mario was thinking.

"I think it has something to do with the Starman. It's giving me this power; it's as if I am invincible."

"I think that's it!" Luigi realized.

But soon after the realization, Mario's invincibility power faded away. He was not glowing anymore. They concluded that the power was temporary.

Meanwhile at Bowser's fortress, a Goomba herald went up to the Koopa King; the herald looked nervous.

"Sire," the Goomba started nervously, "I have some terrible news."

Bowser didn't look so happy, so he started to growl, which made everyone in the throne room at this time flinch.

"WHAT!!! I don't believe this!! What the hell could possibly happen this time!?" Bowser roared.

"Well… um– Sir– umm– those Tricocci Brothers infiltrated Prison Castle #1. It– well… it got destroyed. We only have six prison castles left in the Dark Land Buffer Zone and the prison complex with the Princess," the Goomba said very hesitantly.

Bowser's eyes were red with fury. The minions in the throne room now looked panicked. But eventually, Bowser calmed down a little bit. But his tone was still filled with wrath.

"Those damn plumbers have gone too far! I think I will appoint a few special minions to rid of those pests forever."

At this point, Bowser grinned evilly; it was a freakish grin.

"Send me the Hammer Brothers and Lakitu," the Koopa King commanded to the Goomba herald in a rather calm tone.

"Um, yes, Sire."

After going deeper into the Grasslands, Mario and Luigi made it to another prison castle that looked just like the previous one. The brothers had fought many foes who went in their way, and many times the brothers would get hurt; no one said saving the Kingdom would be easy. But fortunately for the brothers, they found many Super Mushrooms throughout the land. The brothers infiltrated the second castle and found a creature that looked like Bowser, but this time the brothers were convinced that creature wasn't really him. After defeating the fake, they ended up saving another Toadish retainer. The castle would soon collapse just like the previous one. And the retainer said that the Princess was in a different castle. The brothers found a Starman in a Question Block and transported the retainer to safety. Then Luigi touched the Starman and glowed like Mario did when he touched one.

"This is so cool!" Luigi said excitedly.

"I know," said Mario, "Oh look! Some enemies that you could knock out easily, Luigi."

The brothers saw two distinct looking Koopas coming up to them. The Koopas wore green helmets, unlike the other Koopas. The two looked exactly alike and also looked tough, which intimidated the brothers a little.

"So you guys are the so-called Tricocci Brother," one from the Koopa pair said.

"Yes," Mario said a little confidently, "Who might you two be?"

"We are the Hammer Brothers! And we will obliterate you with fury. Prepare to die!"

"Hammer Brothers?" Luigi wondered, still sparkling from touching the Starman.

The Tricocci Brother soon found out why those two Koopas were called the Hammer Brother. The two started taking out hammers from what seemed to be out of nowhere and started to throw them at the Tricocci Brothers. Mario panicked a little but soon realized that Luigi was still invincible. Mario had a plan.

"Hey, Luigi," Mario whispered quickly to Luigi, "You're thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Yeah," said Luigi.

Supposedly understanding what Mario was trying to get at, Luigi bravely started to dash at the Hammer Brothers. The Hammer Brothers threw their hammers at Luigi with deadly accuracy and in a frenzy at the same time, but all the hammers just bounced off the shining Luigi as if he were just an indestructible ram.

"How can this be!? He's not even affected by our hammers!" a Hammer Brother exclaimed.

But before the other Hammer Brother could reply, Luigi went to them and just merely touched them on the forehead. They were knocked out soon after. And also soon after, Luigi stopped glowing.

"Well that was easy," Luigi said with more confidence than ever.

"It sure was," said Mario, "But we should realize that taking those tough guys out would've been much harder without that Starman. We can thank the Stars for that."

Luigi made a nodding expression indicating agreement. Afterward the brothers ventured out to the rest of the Grasslands. From here and there, the brothers would have to go underground via the giant green pipes. They had to go through these underground caverns and fight more foes to reach their destination easier.

Princess Peach was deep in sleep while suffering from her imprisonment in the Koopa Empire. She had a rather interesting image. She found herself in Star Heaven. Star Heaven was a beautiful place located in the high skies where there were always stars sparkling from deep space. It was said that all good souls came to rest in Star Heaven. It was also said that it was the native home to the Starmen. There was usually some sort of twilight, rainbow, or aurora on the horizon. Clouds were everywhere; and any being with legs could walk on them. Peach was in a valley of clouds looking up to a Starman. This Starman was different from all others. He was glowing silver, unlike the usual glowing yellow. He looked elderly and had a white mustache. Peach looked up to him with respect, but she was still curious where she was; just in case she wasn't in Star Heaven.

"Pardon me, Great Mighty Star, but where am I at this moment?" Peach asked with politeness and respect.

"You, Dear Princess Peach Vivianne Toadstool, are in the Council of the Heavenly Summit at Star Heaven. Though the only one you'll see right now is I, Sir Millennium Star," the Starman replied in a wise and omniscient tone.

"Why have I been brought here? Have I died while being imprisoned by the Terrible Koopas?"

"Oh Sweet Heavens, no! You are perfectly alive; don't worry, dear Princess from the Mortal World. I have summoned you here from your dreams."

"My dreams? So that means I'm really still over there?"

When she said 'over there', she meant at the Koopa Empire.

"That is correct. Now I have only brought you here to talk to you about the circumstances of this recent Koopa Invasion. From what I have seen, the Koopas have taken half of the northern region of your kingdom. There was resistance among your people, but most of them were injured or killed."

Peach wasn't surprised by such information, but it saddened her anyway. Sir Millennium Star continued.

"But fortunately, I have sensed a benevolent force."

"A benevolent force?"

"Yes. This force, depending on what happens, can either save the people of your land or continue to allow the destruction of your land and people. But I cannot reveal the fate of the Koopa King. You should only know that you should still have hope for your kingdom."

After hearing this, Peach had much more enthusiasm than after she was captured. Around those times, she was hopeless, but now she was anticipating the arrival of this 'good force'.

Then she suddenly remembered about how she was a vampire. She looked at the Starman; maybe she should talk about what she should do in her circumstance as a vampire with the Starman. She also wanted to truly know why her vampire activities decreased over the years.

"Um, Sir. I wanted to talk about–"

"Good Heavens! Look at the time!" Sir Millennium Star interrupted, bringing out a white fancy wristwatch from out of nowhere, "I'm sorry, Princess, but your time here is up. You will be brought back to where you where before you came here."

"But, but, but…"

But before Peach could continue, everything went black to her. Moments later, she opened her eyes. She was back in the horrible dark room of the Koopa prison. She felt bad for not being able to talk to the Starman about her being a vampire.

And speaking of vampires, Peach suddenly had the troublesome sensation to drink blood once again, right in the middle of this entrapment. Peach didn't know what to do. Would she starve to death in this prison? She stopped herself from thinking of such things and started to wonder about the 'good force' that Sir Millennium Star was talking about. What could this force be? Peach had a lot of questions that she wanted answered.

Mario and Luigi covered a lot of land; from the Grasslands to Mushroom Hills to the Highlands. They also infiltrated four additional prison complexes. That meant that a total of six Koopa prison complexes were destroyed so far and that six of the seven retainers were saved so far and they still had to save one more retainer and then the Princess herself.

Mario and Luigi were traveling along the edge of the Highlands, which were composed of various elevated plateaus in the Mushroom Kingdom. The brothers were fortunate to still have the Fire Flower, for that the next foe that encountered them was hard to avoid.

It was a short, stubby Koopa with large glasses. He was riding on a small cloud that hovered over the brothers.

"You darn plumbers have foiled the plans of the Great Bowser! You will pay for this, for I, Lakitu, will stop you on your tracks," the small Koopa said.

Very soon afterward, Lakitu held out a red spherical figure with yellow spikes. He threw it towards the brothers, who dodged it. The spike ball rolled out into an odd creature with a spiky red shell. The creature's eyes were filled with evil and hate.

"Spiny! After them!" Lakitu commanded to the spiky creature.

The brothers were a little panicked now.

"Oh great, what do we do?" Luigi said nervously.

"Hmm… Let's-a see this flower work its charm," Mario said, taking out the Fire Flower he had with him.

Mario shot a few fireballs and found that the Spiny died. This was good new for the brothers.

"What! This can't be!" Lakitu said angrily.

Lakitu furiously chucked several more of the spike balls towards the brothers. These were Spiny Eggs. The Spinys that came out charged at the brothers. Once again, Mario was successful by chucking fireballs at them. This time though, Mario wanted to be rid of the source, Lakitu. Lakitu knew about Mario having a Fire Flower and started to hover away from the brothers, chucking more Spiny Eggs. These were easily defeated. Once Mario got on a higher elevation, he was able to accurately aim at Lakitu and then shot him on the head. The Lakitu fell to the ground dead.

"Phew," Luigi said in relief, "That was real close. We'd have been-a toasted if you didn't have that flower."

"Yeah. We better get moving, Luigi, or this Kingdom will never be saved."

It had been many hours since the start of the brothers' adventure. Some new enemies started to come out, like Koopa Paratroopas, who are Koopas with little wings. Then there were the Bullet Bills, who were giant, living bullets shot out of stationary cannons set by the Koopas.

There were also situations where Mario and Luigi had to swim across a decently large body of water. Down there, they would encounter Bloobers, who were stubborn white squids used as underwater guards for the Koopas. Then there were Cheep-Cheeps, who were pestering red fish who would block some of the underwater paths.

All of these enemies were fairly easy to defeat, since they had the Fire Flower with them. But one time when the brothers were going to proceed to another prison castle, a Koopa Paratroopa flew into Mario. This made Mario lose the Fire Flower, which vanished into thin air when they collided.

"Mama mia! I lost the flower," Mario said in disappointment.

But this wouldn't discourage the brothers from continuing on. Throughout the entire adventure, Mario and Luigi would get hurt here and there from various foes. But fortunately, they had a lot of Super Mushrooms that would heal them, since they collected a lot of them from all of the Question Block encounters they had throughout the adventure. Occasionally, they would find a Starman and one of the brother would literally ram though a bunch of enemies while the other brother would closely follow.

It had been more hours. The brothers were getting closer and closer to their destination. Bowser was furious. A spy reported to him that the brothers took down the seventh prison castle. This prison castle had Toad in it. That meant that the prison complex with the imprisoned Princess was the only building left for the brothers to take. The spy told Bowser how the brothers would defeat the Koopa minions easily. He especially took mention to Mario more than Luigi, since Mario would fight the Koopas and other monsters more than Luigi.

"Darn it! Those damn Mario Brothers have gone too far!" Bowser complained with rage. Apparently, Bowser was more worried about Mario when he said 'Mario Brothers' instead of 'Tricocci Brothers'. "It looks like I'll have to take care of them myself. They better bow down for mercy when I clobber them!"

Suddenly, Bowser thought of Princess Peach. He thought suspiciously for a moment. Could Princess Peach be the motivation that made the Mario Brothers go as far as to mess with the Koopa Empire? Bowser was also concerned if Princess Peach herself had the feeling that someone would save her or at least have little hope. Bowser didn't find such thoughts appealing to him. So he went right to the large prison complex where Princess Peach was held prisoner. The complex was fairly close to the Koopa Palace, where Bowser lived, since both buildings were in the heart of the Koopa Empire. He traveled to the complex with the full intention of preventing Peach from getting any hope.

Peach was in a terrible state of hunger. Several times, a Koopa would come in and offer Peach some of the food made for the prisoners. Peach refused every time. Though she probably would have wanted to eat anything at this rate, Peach would refuse anyway. She was both hungry for food and thirsty to drink fresh blood. Just the thought of blood made Peach's stomach cringe with hunger.

Her hunger was so bad that one time when a Koopa guard came in to offer food, Peach was staring hungrily at the Koopa instead of the food. The Koopa felt a little insecure and concerned by Peach's hungry stare.

"Um… Princess Toadstool… Something that matter?" the Koopa asked nervously.

Peach's voice was very soft and quiet. In fact, her voice was so quiet that the Koopa guard had to come up close to hear her. Peach moaned like a zombie, but with a soft and innocent tone.

"Blood… blood… give me your blood… give me your blood… let me feed…" Peach moaned quietly. She was subconscious at this moment and her hands were trying to reach out for the Koopa, but she was too exhausted to progress forward to him. She did not know what she was saying in her subconscious state. The Koopa freaked out.

"Umm… Princess… Are you okay?"

He was very confused by the Princess's behavior.

"I… want… you… Must have… blood…"

Suddenly paranoid, the Koopa guard left the room swiftly. He told other guards about his creepy encounter with Peach. He told them about how Peach moaned for blood. None of the guards believed him and thus he became known as a liar among those guards. None of this information was released outside the prison complex.

Now Peach sat kneeling on the floor. She was aware of what she said to the Koopa guard. She was worried about her consciousness. She felt that she had to get it together. Many times, she felt like she was going to pass out. She had a little hope left though. She started to pray, folding her hands together.

"Oh Great Stars," Peach prayed silently, "I pray for some relief from my situation. I don't feel well and I might as well be gone since I failed to protect my people from the troubles that have fallen on us. I wish for a little peace; I wish to be free. I know that I am a terrible person for consuming human blood, but I can't help it. The craving for more keeps on coming back.

"And if I die in this very room either from hunger or from the fact that I haven't had enough blood to drink lately, please, I beg to you great stars, please let me die painlessly."

And with that, Peach knelt and put her hands on her face. She wasn't crying, but for some reason, she wanted to.

Moments later, Bowser came into the room. Peach looked at him with despair. She still feared him a lot, so she became speechless.

"Ah! Princess. How are you this very fine evening?" Bowser said mockingly, "You don't look well. Have you eaten anything?"

Peach nodded her head as if to say 'no'.

"No? Why not? Don't have much of an appetite, huh? I sure wouldn't want a lovely lady like you to starve to death in this empty room."

Bowser laughed.

"Well anyway, for a small helpless kingdom, I'm impressed by your kingdom's defense. There are a few Mushroomers who were reported to have defeated much of my patrolling troopers. And I must say, they are pretty tough, supposedly."

At the sounds of this, Peach looked up at Bowser with the expressions of shock and anticipation. Could these 'few people' be the 'force' that the Millennium Star was talking about? Bowser observed the sudden hope in Peach's eyes. He thought quickly of the right words to suppress this hope.

"But heck, they're not tough enough against me! I am a gargantuan compared to those scrawny pests. I think those nitwits made it through my troops with dumb luck. I'll make sure they don't get the upper hand when they face me – yes, they will face me!" Bowser indicated when he thought Peach was going to interrupt him, "And when that time comes, I will be more then ready to finish them off. I probably won't have to do much. Just one puff of my fire breath and their lungs should burn to death."

Those words made Peach more hopeless than ever. And when she heard 'their lungs should burn to death', she cringed as well.

"Well, that's all I have to say for now. Expect to see me soon, for that when I slaughter those pests, I will come back here to determine your fate."

Peach gasped at this. Not so long afterward, Bowser left the dark room, locking it behind him. Peach started to cry a little; she couldn't take it anymore.

"When will it be over?" Peach cried softly and quietly.

"Here we are, Bro."

"Wow… It's huge!"

After a long and tiring journey, Mario and Luigi finally made it to the prison complex where the Princess was held captive. It looked just as medieval and dark as the other prison castles except it was much bigger, like a fortress. Mario and Luigi were about fifty meters from the fortress, and yet they could easily see it, ominous and shadowing. Mario and Luigi looked up ahead and saw that the place was heavily guarded. The brothers were standing behind some bushes in a small forest near the fortress. Around there were two Question Blocks. It was very fortunate for them that both blocks revealed Fire Flowers. Each brother took one.

Now Mario noticed that the more he saw the fortress, the more he worried about Luigi's safety. There was a thought in his mind that indicated that maybe it was unsafe for Luigi to accompany him in taking out the fortress. Maybe Luigi would be much safer standing in the forest. Mario tried to convince him.

"Hey, Luigi, I was just thinking; I not sure if it's going to be safe in there," Mario explained, pointing at the fortress, "Maybe I should go while you watch what goes on outside."

"Are you sure, Bro?"

"Yeah. You'll be safe out here in the forest where those Koopas won't see you. But if they do find you, use that flower, alright?"

"Okay Bro. Good luck!"

"Thanks Luigi."

And with that, Mario ventured alone to the last fortress. He wasn't dumb enough to attack the guards in front of the fortress gates. Mario was very lucky to find a secret underground passage when he snuck behind the fortress. From this passage, he entered. The interior of the fortress was much darker than the interiors of the previous prison castles.

Mario went through a lot of passageways and giant gray pipes that were like the green pipes of the Grasslands except the gray pipes would transport Mario to other parts of the fortress. He also avoided several lava pits, fire whips.

Mario did fight an exceptional amount of enemies in the castle with his Fire Flower; and he noticed that all of the Koopa minions that he faced with his brother all reappeared somewhere in this fortress. There were even underwater portions of the fortress that Mario had to cross to proceed to his destination.

After a while, Mario felt that he was almost at his destination. He stood in a quite undisturbed spot and took out the earring that he found in Peach's Castle. Seeing it, Mario's determination increased. He was so happy that he went this far, though the possible fame for saving the Princess never struck him. In fact, he didn't even think of the word 'fame'. He was more concerned about the Princess's safety so that the Kingdom can stand once more.

"Don't worry, Princess," Mario said quietly to himself, looking at the earring, "You'll be outta here in no time and me and Luigi will take you home."

Putting it in his pocket, Mario continued. Suddenly he saw a Hammer Brother come down and try to throw a hammer at him. Mario dodged, but was almost hit. Mario wondered for a second why there was one Hammer Brother instead of two, but that didn't really bother him.

"You guys again?" Mario said.

"That's right, you jumping, stomping, fire shooting twerp," the Hammer Brother sad back, "You think you can possibly face the Great Bowser and live to tell about it? If I don't take you out, the Koopa King sure will!"

"We'll see," Mario said confidently.

Immediately, the Hammer Brother took out some hammers and started chucking at Mario. Once again, Mario dodged these, but this time he noticed that dodging these hammers were harder than ever. This was bad news for Mario.

He thought of a plan to get the hammers out of the way so that he can knock out the Hammer Brother. Suddenly seeming to have one, Mario took out his Fire Flower and tried to shoot the hammers.

But to his disappointment, the fireballs didn't even flinch the hammers. The Hammer Brother smirked at this.

"Ha! You fool! Do you think that you can possibly destroy my fireproof hammers with your pathetic fireballs? You better find another trick because your dumb luck is over!"

Now the Hammer Brother tossed more hammers and Mario dodged them again, occasionally being barely hit by them. Mario was thinking of another way to aim the fireballs at the Hammer Brother so that they wouldn't be obstructed by the hammers.

Mario started to notice a pattern with the Hammer Brother's movements. He appeared to be throwing a few hammers while on the ground, then he would jump and throw one while in midair. Mario thought that maybe if he ran under him, then he could aim the fireballs more accurately, taking the Hammer Brother out.

He would have to act quickly though because Mario noticed that the Hammer Brother was pretty agile.

Taking a deep breath, Mario dashed under the Hammer Brother and quickly took out his Fire Flower and shot the Hammer Brother many times.

The hammer-tossing Koopa fell to the ground all burned. Yet to Mario's surprise, he was still alive. He moaned in pain.

"You… fool…! How could… this happen… to me…?" the Hammer Brother moaned.

But Mario didn't want to waste his time with him. Mario continued along the rather large passageway that the Hammer Brother blocked, leaving the Koopa on the floor to possible death.

Mario noticed that once he got deeper into the passageway, it started to get hotter. He thought he saw something glowing orange in the background. Once he got closer, he found it to be a river of lava in the middle of a large room. He also saw a stone bridge and on the other side of the bridge was a lock.

Though, the most surprising thing was the beast standing on the stone bridge. His red hair flared like fire and his eyes were full of fury. It was the King of the Koopas, in the flesh. Mario was more concerned now, since he believed that he was really face to face with the real Bowser.

"Bwahahahahahaa! Congratulations Mario! You have made it so far; I thought you wouldn't survive from mere Goombas. I guess I underestimated you. Oh, and where is the Green One?"

"If you are talking about Luigi, then you won't have to worry about him. I am your only concern right now."

"Hahahahaa! You think you can stop me alone? You fool! You will never see your pathetic Kingdom in peace again. And you won't see your precious Princess either. Her fate will be determined as soon as I finish you off!"

Mario looked with slight anger at Bowser when Bowser said those words.

"I'll make sure you don't hurt the Princess. She doesn't deserve to be here!"

"Oh really? Hmmmm… I might as well make her feel at home if you put it that way. Anyhow, I'll squish you like a bug, fat plumber!"

Mario was intimidated when Bowser said 'fat plumber'. Bowser started by using his fire breathing technique. Mario tried to dodge the attack, but he found that his left shoe got toasted a little.

"Hmm… Very impressive! You're pretty agile for a plumber. But you won't last long!"

Mario took out his Fire Flower and started to shoot fireballs at Bowser while Bowser used his fire breath. Bowser got hit several times, but they weren't severe injuries. On the other hand, Mario got burned badly. Parts of his overalls were burned and his right glove was scorched and breaking, revealing part of his burned hand.

Mario still had some hope in this battle with the Koopa King. He noticed that Bowser's movements were similar to the movements of the Hammer Brother that Mario met not so long ago. Bowser would occasionally jump after attacking with either small puffs of fire, large puffs, or hammers. Just like with the Hammer Brothers, Mario did not know where the hammers Bowser used came from. Mario tried to shoot more fireballs, but they weren't damaging Bowser enough for him to be weakened. Mario thought of a plan in his mind.

"_Hmm__…__ Maybe if I run under the Koopa King while he jumps and then dash as fast as I can, then I can get to the lock just in time for Bowser to fall into the lava,"_ Mario thought.

Keeping his mind to this new plan, Mario dodged more of Bowser's attacks, waiting for Bowser to jump again. Once Bowser did, Mario ran quickly under him and started to dash all the way to the lock on the other side of the bridge. Bowser noticed this.

"Hey! You come back here, scrawny plumber!"

But before Bowser could chase after Mario, Mario was already on the other side of the bridge. Without thinking, Mario pulled on the lock as he did many other times in the other prisons.

Soon after, Bowser's enormous weight couldn't support the breaking bridge, so it shook violently.

"Oh crap…" Bowser mumbled to himself.

Almost immediately after, the bridge collapsed and Bowser fell into the burning river of lava. Mario thought he heard Bowser yell, "Curse you Mario!!"

But Mario had no time to wonder if Bowser died or not. He was concerned if the Princess was okay. He slowly opened the door in front of him.

There in the middle of the dark room under the spotlight sat the beautiful Princess, a sheen of wonder to Mario eyes. But some of her beauty was replaced with despair, hopelessness, and worry. Her eyes were a little red, but not too much. She looked pale as well. But even with these conditions, Mario was happy that she was okay. He walked into the room.

As he did, Peach suddenly looked up to him, trying to recognize him. He was sweating a little and parts of his right hand were burned. He also had small burses on various part of his body. Peach was astonished my Mario's wounds. She couldn't recognize him, but she assumed that he defiantly wasn't on the Koopas' side.

But Peach's hunger was taking the better of her for a moment. She looked at Mario with wide eyes. He was a little round on the belly. In fact, because of that, the first thing that came to Peach's head was the word 'plump'. That made her thirstier than before. But there was resistance because Peach noticed how Mario approached her with gentleness and with a welcoming expression. Peach tried to put her thirst aside while Mario talked gently with her.

"Hello, Princess," Mario said slowly, knelling down, "Are you… alright?"

Peach didn't know what to say. She wondered where Bowser was. Her voice was still soft, but it was more audible now.

"Well… I guess I'm fine now, Mister… umm…"

"Mario. Mario Tricocci."

"Oh, I see. It's nice to meet you, Mario, but what happened to the Koopa King?"

"Oh him? Well… all you'll have to know is that he's not a concern now."

Peach was started by this. Could Mario have defeated Bowser? Peach noticed that Mario looked like a nice person and she also saw him blush a little. She wondered why.

"See, I came here to save you. My brother is-a waiting outside so that me and him can take you to your castle, Princess."

"Y-you're here to rescue me?"

"Yep."

Peach's tone was desperate now. Tears of happiness rolled down her eyes.

"Oh thank you very much!"

Her feelings were now so strong that she couldn't help but to come up to Mario, kiss him on the nose, then briefly hug him crying softly and briefly on his shoulder. This made Mario blush even more. It was an honor for Mario, a common subject, to meet the Princess like this. Peach smiled for the first time in a while after seeing Mario blush; she knew why he did blush now.

"Oh, and I almost forgot! I found this in your castle," Mario said, taking out the blue earring he found a while ago.

Once Peach saw it, she was startled.

"Wow! You found my missing earring! I thought I lost it for sure. This is a special pair or earrings. Thank you so much, Mario!"

Peach was very thankful of this new stranger. She felt really bad for having sick thoughts of seeing him as a 'plump' meal earlier. She quickly threw that thought behind and looked into Mario's blue eyes.

"Oh! We better get out of here, Princess. This place might collapse."

So quickly, Mario and Peach get up and escape the fortress. A bunch of Koopa guards from outside were coming in to see the commotion, but Mario led Peach out from a back exit, so that they wouldn't meet the guards.

After Mario and Peach got to a safe enough distance, they saw with both the feeling of amazement and the feeling of success the giant fortress collapsing right in front of their very own eyes.

"Woww…" Peach silently said in awe.

It seemed that all of the guards who entered the fortress died of building collapse, so Mario and Peach didn't have to worry about them.

They start walking along the small forest near what was the fortress.

"We must find my bro," Mario explained.

"Hey!! Over here!" Luigi yelled from a distance.

Mario and Peach proceed to Luigi. Luigi seemed worried after the prison complex collapsed.

"Wow! You saved the Princess!? You're so amazing Bro!" said Luigi, "I was worried if you were safe or not."

"It's alright, Bro," Mario said happily, "Princess, I would like to introduce to you my bro, Luigi."

"It's nice to meet you, Luigi Tricocci," Peach greeted formally.

"It's nice to meet you too," said Luigi shyly.

Peach was very glad to have met these people. She wanted to know more about them, knowing without doubt that the Mario Brothers were sincere.

"Have you gentlemen traveled all the way through while facing Koopas to save me?" Peach wondered.

"Yes," said Mario, "It was a long story. But we had some help along the way from Starmen."

Once hearing that, Peach thanked the Starmen very much in her mind.

"And we also used these unusual flowers that spit out fireballs," Luigi added showing his Fire Flower, "What are they called?"

"Oh, you are not aware that those are called Fire Flowers?" Peach giggled.

The Mario Brothers looked dumbfounded. It was an obvious thing to call those flowers 'Fire Flowers'.

"Well," said Mario, "I guess we shall take you to your castle now."

"Why of course," Peach said, relived from the long day, "You two are very brave men to do a great deed such as this. I will surely honor you both! Thank you once again for rescuing me!"

To the sounds of this, Mario and Luigi got excited.

"Yahoo!" Mario cheered, "We'll tell you about our long adventure of getting here, Princess."

"That would be splendid! You're sure full of energy," Peach giggled.

And so, Mario, Luigi, and Peach proceeded to Peach's Castle. Peach advised that it would be easier if they found a Starman from the Question Blocks. Once they did a long while later, the Starman teleported all three of them to Peach's Castle, where Peach would at last be nice and safe.


	24. Prosperous Once Again

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Mario Brothers, Princess Peach, Toadsworth, Mushroom Kingdom, Toad, Bowser, Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Mushroom City, and Koopas (C) Nintendo.

Toadscope (C) me.

Prosperous Once Again

At Peach's Castle, Toadsworth was stunned by the fact that Mario was able to save the seven Royal Retainers, one of them being Toad. Each retainer described their encounter with the Mario Brothers to the others who were currently in the Castle at the time. The mess from earlier was cleaned up and the dead bodies were being prepared for funeral. But even with that, there was happiness, not sorrow. Toadsworth had more and more hope for the Mario Brothers as he heard the stories from the retainers' experiences with them. They were all amazed that the Mario Brothers had unnatural skills for commoners. Toadsworth felt a little ashamed that they weren't recognized earlier in their lives.

"I feel confident that Mister Mario and Luigi Tricocci have the potential of saving our beloved Princess after hearing all of your stories," Toadsworth said to the Royal Retainers.

"Yeah, I could never imagine such ordinary looking people having such potential," one of the Toadish guards.

"And they seem to be nice fellows as well," Toad pointed out.

While they continued to discuss about the fate of the Mushroom Kingdom, Toadscope came into the room, but he didn't have much of a worried look.

"Guys! I have some good news," Toadscope said while walking into the room.

"What is it?" Toadsworth asked.

"We now have reports that the Koopas retreated from the Northern Provinces. That was as far as those creeps were able to take over," said Toadscope.

"So in others words, all of them are leaving the Kingdom?" Toad reinsured.

"Exactly," Toadscope replied.

With this realization, the Toads cheered, since that this was a sign that the Mushroomers were proceeding to victory. But unfortunately for them, they didn't know if Bowser was defeated or if he was still commanding the invasion of the Kingdom.

"But what happened to Bowser?" Toad wondered.

"He has been defeated!" an excited female voice called out from the back of the throne room.

All the Toadish turned back to see Mario and Luigi, and behind them safe and sounds, Princess Peach. Earlier, the Brothers and the Princess were teleported by the Starman in the courtyard, which looked splendid in the evening. Then they entered the castle and entered the throne room from a minor entrance. The comeback of the Princess meant victory for the Mushroomers, so the Toadish cheered once again. Toadsworth ran up to Peach.

"Princess! Is that really you?!" Toadsworth asked astonishingly.

"Yes, it's me, Toadsworth," Peach said calmly.

"I'm so glad that you are all right dear!"

"Aww, thanks Toadsworth! And thank you all for keeping this Kingdom stable in this terrible time of crisis. And also, we mustn't forget to thank the Mario Brothers for successfully taking down key Koopa fortresses and rescuing the Royal Retainers and Me."

Everyone agreed with what Peach said. She passed the people in the room to sit on her comfortable throne. Everyone gathered near the throne, including the Mario Brothers. Peach was thinking about something; one could tell by her focused expression.

"Hmmm… You know… When I was still imprisoned, I was told that I was captured because I was a threat to the Koopas. And I thought about that for a while in my imprisonment. I think I know now why I could've been a threat."

"How so?" Toadsworth asked.

"I believe it was because I could reverse some of the damage the Koopas have done to us."

"What sort of damage?" Toad asked.

There was a short pause.

"Well, let's go to the hospital nearby and I'll show you what I mean," Peach said, "Mario, Luigi, you should come as well."

"Alright, Princess," the brothers said.

So Peach, the Toadish, and the Mario Brothers left the Castle for a moment to go to the town where the Prime Minister lived. The town was fortunately near the Castle. In the town, there was a small hospital housing the unfortunate people who were either injured by the Koopas or turned into stone by them. In the hospital, Peach and the others went into a room where two patients were lying on separate beds. One of the patients literally looked like a statue. The other patient was flesh and blood, but he was badly injured on the face and ribs, obviously the work of Koopas.

Peach went to the statue-like person first. The Toadish and the Mario Brothers gathered around the bed as they saw Peach's right hand glow lime green. Her right hand was hovering about the face of the statue-like person. Soon, the Toadish and Mario Brothers were stunned when they saw the stone of the person turn into flesh. It was so fascinating that it even stunned Peach for a second, but she knew that she had acquired many unique and unusual abilities over the years. Once Peach seemed done with her treatment, her hand stopped glowing and the person who was once still as a statue was moving again. He looked at his hands then turned to Peach.

"Princess…? W– what happened?" the person asked a little weakly.

"You were turned into stone by the Koopas," Peach answered calmly, "I have just turned you back to normal."

"Wow… Um– Thank you, Princess!"

"No worries," Peach smiled.

The others were amazed by what Peach did.

"Whoa! How did you do that, Princess!?" Toad asked.

"Well, it seems that I have an array of magical powers," Peach answered, "But I don't know all of my abilities yet. Fortunately though, the ones that I do know are very beneficial so far, like my ability to reverse the Koopa's Stone Curse. The Stone Curse turns people into stone. And there are many who have been victims of this now. Let's all gather around the other patient now; I have another interesting power to show you all."

The Toadish and Mario Brothers gather around the other patient's bed. Upon further inspection, the second patient had a bruised cheek, but even worse was the damaged right ribs. Peach hovered her right hand above the person's right rib. This time, her hands glowed a golden yellow. Within time, the patient noticed something unusual; his ribs felt much better.

Peach moved her hand now so that it would hover above the patient's face. The patient soon noticed that the face started to feel better as well. The patient was amazed.

"Wow… How did you do that, Princess?" the patient asked.

"I have healing abilities," the Princess said simply.

"Healing abilities!?" Luigi said astonishingly, "How?"

"Well, I don't know for sure," Peach said, "In fact, I have no clue where any of these powers of mine come from. I guess I'm just really fortunate enough to have them."

"Wow, that's so amazing!" said Mario, "And you could heal all the people in this hospital?"

"Why, sure, Mario! I would love to do that. After all, I felt that I didn't help the people of this kingdom enough."

"Oh, don't feel like that," said Mario, "You've tried your best."

"Mister Mario's right," Toadsworth said, "You shouldn't feel bad, Princess."

With this, Peach smiled. She was glad to have such support.

"Just one question," Toad said, "How did you find out that you had these abilities?"

"Well, I go to the priest to find out," Peach said, "I told him that I had unusual powers and ever since, we have been discovering more abilities. Now let's go heal all of these people."

With that, Peach healed patients room-by-room while the Toadish and Mario Brothers followed her and watched. Each time was as amazing as the other. The doctors in the hospital were really grateful to her.

And once they were all back at Peach's Castle, Peach wanted to know more about the Mario Brothers. Peach was sitting on her throne while the others were in the throne room, including Mario and Luigi.

"Mario, Luigi, I really appreciate your efforts to defeat the Koopas. And because we never knew you before, we would like to know more about you, if of course that's okay with you two," Peach said.

"Oh, it's alright," said Mario.

"Great! Well, first off, where did you guys come from?"

"We were born in Bologna, but then we moved to Mushroom City."

"Mushroom City, huh? So how did you get here then?"

"Well, we had a car, but along the way, some Koopas smashed it, so we had to walk the rest of the way."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, guys."

"It's alright," said Luigi.

There was a pause. Peach was thinking.

"You guys should be honored for your act of saving the Kingdom," said Peach, "Yes, that's it. I'll honor the both of you tomorrow. It's a deed that everyone should know. You will go to your home tonight, but you will come back here tomorrow with all of your belongings, all right?"

"Bring our belongings?" Mario asked, "I'm-a curious to know why."

"You'll find out," Peach smiled, "You two will be taken home shortly. Toad, get the car ready."

"Yes, Princess."

Toad left the throne room. Mario and Luigi waited in the throne room. Peach was still curious to know more about the Mario Brothers.

"Um, Mario, Luigi, I have another question," Peach said, "I'm sure many have tried to resist Koopa occupation, but what was your motivation for saving us? You don't realize how much of a courageous deed you have done. When you described to me your adventure, it seemed as if you effortlessly defeated the Koopas."

"Well," said Mario, "I can surely say on behalf of myself and Luigi that our adventure wasn't really easy. We've been through awfully hard and stressful situations. It's just that the items like the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower helped us a lot."

"Oh, I see," Peach nodded.

"And our motivation was that we didn't want this kingdom to fall, and…" Mario started to get a little shy "…well, we didn't want you to get hurt."

"Aww! Really? That's so sweet of you!"

Toad came back into the throne room.

"Princess, the car's ready for them."

"Excellent," said Peach, "All right. Mario, Luigi, you guys will be taken home by our driver who is waiting outside now. And tomorrow morning, he will be back to bring you here. You must bring all of your belongings."

"We understand, Princess," Mario said, on behalf of Luigi and himself.

And with that, Mario and Luigi went outside to see a small fancy white car with a brown haired driver. The brothers say their farewells to Peach and the Toadish as they leave to their home in Mushroom City.

Once the brothers were home, they talked about the long exhausting day and then as Peach insisted, they packed all of their belongings as if they were going to move.

The next morning, Mario and Luigi woke up and had breakfast. Soon afterward, they heard the honk of a car and saw the driver, ready to take the brothers back to Peach's Castle.

At the castle, Mario and Luigi seemed welcomed by the people in the castle who seemed to be preparing for something. This was an honor to them since they were commoners and were being respected by noble people.

Peach was sitting on her throne fixing her hair a little. Once the Mario Brothers arrived, she smiled with glee, happy to see them.

"Oh! Good morning, Mario and Luigi!" Peach greeted, "I have been waiting for you."

"Waiting for us?" Mario and Luigi said.

"Why, of course. You two must be honored, remember?" Peach giggled, "We do a traditional ceremony to honor those who do heroic acts. People gather around and cheer."

"Wow…" Luigi said in amazement.

"Wow, Princess, don't you think that's a little too much?" Mario asked.

"Why, of course not! You two deserve it!" Peach said excitedly, "The ceremony will start soon. It'll take place in the Courtyard."

Peach got off her throne and the Mario Brothers followed her to the Courtyard. In the Courtyard, they saw a bunch of people; they varied from Toadish people to human officials. The only place there wasn't people was a slightly elevated granite platform in the center near the grand fountain. This was where Mario, Luigi, and Peach were to stand.

Once everything was set, Peach started her speech with Mario and Luigi on either side of her.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" Peach started, "As you all have known, we were recently attacked by the terrible Koopas. And I was very unfortunate enough to be kidnapped by them. But we can be very grateful to the Stars that our Kingdom has been saved and all the hostages, including me, are all safe and sound.

"Now who are we to thank for this? The answer to that are these two great heroes," – she looked happily at Mario and Luigi – "The Tricocci Brothers! Yes, we don't really know how two ordinary looking fellows could have such potential as to save our Kingdom, but I feel it was from their sheer motivation of seeing this Kingdom safe and also their mere ambition. Surely, no one would have dared to defy the Koopas, but these two brave men went through with it.

"Today I have gathered all of you here so that we could honor our wonderful heroes today!"

"Three cheers for Mister Mario and Luigi Tricocci!" Toadsworth cheered.

"Hip-hip HURRAY! Hip-hip HURRAY! Hip-hip HURRAY!"

Mario and Luigi looked with joy as the people of the Mushroom Kingdom cheered for them. They became famous, though unintentionally, but still, they were really glad. They were even given medals from Princess Peach herself to further honor them as heroes.

Later, as the excitement and festivity settled a little, Peach and the Royal Retainers wanted to show the Mario Brothers something. They were in the castle's main lobby.

"Oh, Mario, Luigi!" Peach called.

"Yes, Princess," Mario said, while Luigi was trying to catch up.

"On behalf of Toadsworth, the Elders' Council, and Royal Retainers, and myself, I wanted to give you something special in return for saving us from possible doom."

"Really!?" Luigi said astonishingly.

"Yes," said Peach, "But it will require us to walk some distance, but not too long thankfully. Follow us."

And with that, Peach and the Royal Retainers along with Toadsworth led Mario and Luigi to the place where the gift was suppose to be.

After walking for about two minutes, they made it to a small, but nice looking house. It had red roofing and was the perfect size for two people to live in. Mario and Luigi were fascinated by the nice house.

"Mario, Luigi, I would like you to accept this house as a gift for your heroic deeds!" Peach said pleasantly.

"Really? This house? Wow, this is amazing!' Mario exclaimed.

"Though I do apologize for the small size," Peach said, "We had to build it as fast as possible. Oh, and also, we put your belongings you were told to leave in the lobby into this house; you can arrange them in anyway you want."

"Wow! So we get to live here?" Luigi asked.

"Definitely! And on top of that, it is only a two-minute walk to my castle, so if you wanted anything, you are welcome to visit! It is quite an honor to live so close to the castle."

"Indeed," Mario mumbled in awe and excitement, "Wow Princess, we don't know how much we can thank you for all of this!"

"Oh, it's no worry for me Mario! I mean you guys saved my life after all. I could be so much more grateful."

Peach was glad that Mario and Luigi like the new house built just for them. She made another statement.

"Well, actually, the truth was that making this house for you guys was sort of a hard decision," Peach added.

"Why?" Luigi wondered.

"Well, since you guys lived in the city, we didn't know if you were used to the city life or if you guys would mind living on the countryside."

"Well," said Mario, "Me and Luigi actually have always wanted to-a live on the country! It's just that we couldn't really escape the hectic city life. We really appreciate this gift, Princess!"

"Really? Wow, that's great!" Peach smiled, "Well, if you need us for anything, feel free to give us a visit. All right?"

"Sure!" Mario said.

And with what, Peach and the Toadish return to the castle leaving Mario and Luigi to set up their new home in the beautiful meadows of Starman Valley. Once Mario and Luigi got out their belongings and place everything together, they felt at relief from all the troubles and adventures. This was too good to be true. They were so surprised by how generous and nice the Princess was. To them, she was truly a wonderful and noble woman. And Mario especially found her to be a lovely lady since his encounter with her. It seemed that there would be relief and a new era of tranquility for the Mario Brothers and the whole Mushroom Kingdom.


	25. The Friendly Visit

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach, Mario, Luigi, Mushroom Kingdom, Mushroom City, Koopas, Goombas, and Buzzy Beetles (C) Nintendo.

Bolognan Province (C) me.

The Friendly Visit

It had been a week since the Mushroom Kingdom was saved from the peril only the Koopas could have brought. Mario and Luigi, who were supposedly two ordinary civilians from the city, were now know as famous heroes ever since it was announced by Princess Peach. Everyone seemed to be talking about them.

As Mario anticipated, Luigi and he quickly adapted to living in the beautiful meadows of Starman Valley, although, they never visited the castle yet. They were too busy being employed as plumbers in a nearby town, since they had to leave their city and their old plumber jobs. The town was the same town where the Prime Minister lived. They were employed quickly, since they were known as heroes after all.

A week after saving the Kingdom, Mario heard someone knock gently on the front door. It was around noontime. Mario was surprised when he found that the visitor was Princess Peach herself. She was clad in a nice dress, which seemed to make her look much more casual than usual, but she was still royally charming.

"Pr– Pr– Princess Peach!?" Mario exclaimed, seeing Peach's royal presence.

"Oh, hello Mario!" Peach greeted, "Have I arrived to early?"

"Oh, no. Not at all. Please come in."

"Why, thank you!"

Peach entered the house and was told to make herself comfortable on one of the couches in the small living room. Mario went to tell Luigi that Peach was here. Luigi was almost done showering at this time, so Mario told him from behind the bathroom door.

Shortly afterward, Mario and Luigi went to the living room to meet Peach.

"Would you like us to-a serve you something, Princess?" Mario asked.

"Oh no. It's all right Mario. I just had breakfast a while ago. But that was really nice of you for asking." Peach said sweetly.

"So what brings you here, Princess?" Luigi wondered.

"Well, I just wanted to visit," Peach replied, "Actually, the truth is that I wanted to know more about you guys. I mean, I can't help but wonder about you all ever since the incident with Bowser. Back when I was still a hostage, I was anticipating the end. Such a horrible thought! So you can't really blame me for wondering. I do apologize for my extreme curiosity."

"Oh, it's-a okay, Princess. We understand," Mario said.

"Thank you for understanding," Peach said, "Judging by your adventure to the Koopa Empire, I have an odd feeling that you've went though dangerous events like this before. Is that true?"

"Well," Mario said with a pause for thought, "I guess our adventure to the Koopa Empire was the most dangerous thing we did yet. But we were really confident. Now, we did go though some journeys that most people would consider 'dangerous,' but not as dangerous as our quest to save you and this Kingdom. One time, back when me and Luigi still lived in the city, our neighbor's cat was missing and he told us to find him. With some clues, we were able to go through a forest near the city that had some monsters."

"Monsters?" Peach wondered, "How were they like?"

"Well," said Mario, "We didn't really know much about these monsters at first. But now we think that they were Goombas and Buzzy Beetles. We eventually found the cat, but it was surrounded by a bunch of Goombas. We fought them and returned the cat."

"I see. So have there been other situations where you would venture out?"

"Well back when we were kids, me and Luigi would explore the forest that was near the house where we used to live, back at Bologna."

"Really? That's nice. I hear that Bologna is a peaceful place. What made you move to the city? Just curious."

At this point, Mario and Luigi had slight expressions of unhappiness. Peach immediately noticed this and became concerned.

"Uh… Mario? Luigi? Is there something the matter?" Peach asked.

Mario shrugged dully. Luigi just looked down.

"Was it something I said?"

"No." Mario replied quietly. There was a pause. "See, the reason we moved to the city was because our family felt it became unsafe for us to continue to live in Bologna."

"Back then, some Koopas attacked our peaceful town and killed our Dad," Luigi continued with the same quiet tone.

Peach gasped to this. It was no wonder sudden depression struck Mario and Luigi. Peach suddenly remembered how she was told that her beloved Father was also killed by the Koopas. She knew how Mario and Luigi felt.

"I know how you feel guys," Peach shrugged, "I'm terribly sorry to hear that. I never intended for you guys to feel bad. See, my Father was also killed by the Koopas, but back when I was a little baby, so you might not have known that."

"It's alright, Princess," Mario said, "Yeah, we learned that the King was killed. We're sorry to hear that too."

There was another pause. Peach stated to talk.

"So you moved to the city feeling that it would be safer for you guys?"

"Exactly. We moved with our Mom, but she died of an unknown disease a few years after we moved to the city. It was just the two of us now."

"Oh dear… That must be horrible."

"It's alright."

There was a long pause. Peach wanted to shift the topic a little.

"Well, did you like the city life?"

"We sorta got used to it. But it was too hasty. We didn't like the hectic lifestyle eventually. We like it much better here."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you like it here. So… Remind me. You're plumbers, right?"

"Yep," Luigi said, "I guess that's how we ended up doing when nothing else was available. But we're used to it."

"Interesting. You know, I personally find it easier to see you guys as heroes than plumbers."

"Aw shucks, Princess!" Mario said a little shyly, "I honestly would have never known the outcome of our adventure, until of course we won."

"I know," said Peach, "But you realize that I will never forget the moment when you guys saved me."

Mario and Luigi smiled to this. Peach smiled as well. She found that the Mario Brothers were really nice humans. They quickly became of the several humans in which Peach would truly respect. Peach continued to talk.

"Well Mario, Luigi. There was another reason why I came here. I wanted to invite you guys to a little picnic."

"A picnic?" Luigi asked.

"Yes. It will only be you guys, Toad, and me. But I feel I'll be a little busy now so you wouldn't mind if we had it around October, right?"

October was in about a month. Mario and Luigi were getting really excited about this.

"Of course we'll come! It's going to be-a great! Sure we'll have it on October," Mario answered excitedly.

"Splendid! Oh, and you won't have to bring anything; we will provide everything. Well, that's unless you guys have some very interesting stories to tell during the picnic."

"Sure, we got a few stories," Mario said.

"Great! So, it has been splendid visiting you guys. Hope you have a great day! Feel free to visit us anytime you want!"

"Alright! Bye-bye!"

Mario and Luigi led Peach to the front door where she waved good-bye. Mario and Luigi waved as well. They felt that they suddenly became friends with the lovely Princess. It was an honor for them to befriend such a splendid person.


	26. Tatanga Revived

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach, Daisy, Mario, Luigi, Tatanga, Bowser, Toadsworth, Toad, Mushroom Kingdom, and Sarasa Kingdom (Sarasaland) (C) Nintendo.

Lily and Toadsoph (C) me.

Tatanga Revived

It was about three days since Peach's visit with the Brothers. She was standing on her balcony, staring at the sky. She had sort of a odd feeling that something bad was about to happen. This feeling was slightly similar to the feeling she had when the vampress from her childhood was murdered, except this vibe was much less intense, but still disturbing. She definitely hoped that a loved-one wouldn't be harmed. Suddenly, Toad arrived with bad news.

"Princess!" Toad called.

"What is it, Toad? Something the matter?" Peach asked.

"It's Princess Daisy. She's been captured!"

"What!? How can this be? By whom?"

"This might be a shock for all of us, but I heard some people say that it was Tatanga."

Peach was shocked from this. She remembered Tatanga as the small, tough purple alien who captured her Aunt Lily years ago and was killed by the armies of her Kingdom, the Sarasa Kingdom, and SimNation. How in the world could Tatanga possible be alive again?

"Tat- Tat- Tatanga!? That's impossible! How could they be sure that the one who captured Daisy was him?"

"Don't know for sure, but the pictures that eyewitnesses gave to us sure convinced me. Here, take a look."

Toad handed Peach some photographs showing a small alien craft crashing into the Daisy's Castle and snatching Daisy away. The craft was being run by a purple figure that looked very much like Tatanga. Peach became convinced that this was him. But how could he be alive again? It was very confusing for her.

"Oh my goodness… Toad, what do we do?"

"We need someone to rescue Princess Daisy, but they are going to have to survive the harsh deserts of Birabuto to get to Tatanga's den."

Peach though about that. She immediately thought of Mario and Luigi, but she didn't know if Mario and Luigi were able to survive the desert.

"Well Toad, I was thinking if Mario and Luigi would be able to rescue Daisy, but I don't know if they could handle the desert."

"Hmm… I'm not sure if they could. Do you want me to get them here, Princess?"

"Yes, that would be great, Toad. Bring them right away. I'll be waiting in the throne room."

"Yes, Princess."

And with that, Toad left to get the Mario Brothers. Peach proceeded to the throne room. At the throne room, Peach was talking to Toadsworth about how Tatanga was alive.

"Um, Toadsworth… even though I saw the pictures of what seemed to be Tatanga, I'm not truly sure if that was him. Do you think Tatanga had a twin brother or something?"

"Hmmm… Princess, that would be a reasonable theory," Toadsworth explained, "But I am afraid that this is definitely Tatanga."

"But how? He can't just live again after dying. It doesn't make any sense."

"Well see, Princess, we were told that the alien who captured Daisy was heard saying 'Ah, my lovely Lily, you're back!' I am not aware if Tatanga knows that Lily had passed away or not, but this sure does seem to be like Tatanga."

"So it is him," Peach sighed, now convinced, "How tough is he now?"

"Just as much as before, from what I have heard. The thing is, Princess, there were many theories about how he came back. I think one of the most reasonable ones was that somehow, Bowser used his dark magic to get him awake again."

"What!? How can that be? Why would Bowser want to have Tatanga alive?"

"I'm not sure. Hopefully, the Mario Brothers could do something about this."

"Yeah."

Suddenly, Toad entered the throne room with the Mario Brothers, who looked rather concerned.

"Um, Princess, did you want us to come here?" Mario asked.

"Yes, Mario. I have terrible news. It was reported not so long ago that Princess Daisy of the Sarasa Kingdom has been taken hostage by Tatanga."

"Really?" said Luigi, "Wow, that's terrible."

"Indeed," said Peach, "And you must realize how worried I am since Princess Daisy is my cousin."

There was a short pause.

"Who captured her, Princess?" Mario asked.

"Well… long story short, the one who took Daisy was an evil alien creature that was supposedly dead. His name is Tatanga. Tatanga captured the mother of Princess Daisy long ago, but soon her mother was saved. But now he returns for Daisy."

"Is there any way we can help?" Luigi asked.

"Well," said Peach, "I was wondering if you guys could survive the desert condition in the Sarasa Kingdom. I perfectly understand if you can't."

"Desert?" Luigi asked hesitantly.

"Yes, desert. Didn't you know that there are arid regions in the southern areas of the Sarasa Kingdom? Tatanga has an underground den built at the base of a sandy mountain. I believe this is where Daisy is currently. Somehow, someone will have to infiltrate that den and get Daisy back."

"We'll do it!" Mario said with confidence.

"What! Mario!" Luigi complained to Mario, "We're going to have to-a go through a lot of desert."

"Oh Luigi, we'll be alright. Don't worry."

"Really? Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Peach asked, "You realize that I am worried about your safety. If you feel you can't do this, we can always find an alternative way to rescue her."

"Nah, it's alright, Princess. Don't worry. Me and Luigi will be fine. We'll do everything we can to save Princess Daisy," Mario said.

"Oh Mario, I'm so grateful! What could we do without you?"

"Aw shucks!"

There was a pause. Toad was going to say something.

"But how will the Mario Brothers get to Sarasaland as fast as possible?" Toad asked.

"Well," Peach said, "I do have a secret. Follow me."

Peach got off her throne and proceeded to a minor hallway in her castle while Toad, Mario, and Luigi followed her. After going at the end of the hallway, Peach pressed on the wall's bricks. This opened a secret passageway that led into a hidden room where the floor, walls, and ceiling were made of traditional Mushroomer bricks. In the center of the room was a large grey pipe sticking up from the floor similarly to the large green pipes that stick out in several areas of the Grasslands. Toad, Mario, and Luigi were amazed.

"Wow! What is this?" Luigi asked.

"This, my friends, is a secret warp pipe which will take us directly to Daisy's Castle in seconds. This warp pipe was built a few years ago under my request so that I could visit Princess Daisy as much as I wanted without using time to fly to her kingdom. Aren't warp-pipes so convenient?" Peach said sweetly.

"Wow, that's so awesome!" Mario said, "So we end up at the Sarasa Kingdom?"

"Exactly," Peach said, "Now gentlemen, I want you to realize that from here it will get a little hotter. The Sarasans fortunately know about you guys so they should recognize you easily and give you a helping hand. But from there, things will be harder. I want you guys to be all right. Understand?"

"Got it." Mario and Luigi said.

"All right then. Best of luck! And make sure Daisy is safe and sound."

"We will!"

And with that, Mario and Luigi went into the pipe. They saw noting but black for a moment, but seconds later, they miraculously end up in the gardens of the Sarasa Kingdom! As Peach said, it was hotter then what they were used to back at the Mushroom Kingdom. But fortunately it wasn't too hot.

A Toadish came up to Mario and Luigi when he saw them. This Toadish had tan spots on his mushroom cap as opposed to the traditional red spots of a Mushroomer Toadish. The Sarasan Toadish quickly recognized the Mario Brothers.

"Are you guys the famous plumbers who rescued Princess Peach from peril?" the Sarasan Toadish asked.

"Yep, that's us," Mario replied.

"Great! We need you right away. You know that our beloved Princess Daisy has been taken hostage by Tatanga, right?"

"Yes, and we were here to save her."

"All right. Follow me into the castle."

And with that, Mario and Luigi followed the Sarasan Toadish into Daisy's Castle. There the brothers met with Toadish officials of the Sarasa Kingdom, who explained to the Mario Brothers about the predicament and where Tatanga's den was. They also warned the Mario Brothers what to look out for, like Tatanga's persistent goons and Tatanga himself, since he probably had his missiles. Soon after, Mario and Luigi packed up their compass, map, and water bottles and went off towards their destination.

In order to get there, the brothers had to cross the desert, but fortunately they were notified about a shortcut that could take them through some shaded tunnels and fresh oasis. This would also mean that the brothers had fewer foes to fight since Tatanga and his goons didn't know about this shortcut.

After an hour of walking in harsh desert heat, Mario and Luigi found an oasis with a palm tree. They decided to quickly rest in the shade of the palm tree for a while. Mario wiped the sweat off his forehead while Luigi sighed tiredly from his exhaustion.

"Mamma mia… I'm-a tired!" Luigi sighed.

But suddenly, they spotted a living cactus creature. The cactus had eyes, but it didn't seem to have much brains. It just shifted slowly on the sand towards to the Mario Brothers. It didn't seem to talk either, unlike some of the enemies the brothers had to fight back at the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Aiee! Mario! What is that!?" Luigi said, freaking out.

"Mamma mia! Don't-a worry Luigi! It's just a moving cactus."

"But Bro, it's coming towards us and it's going to poke us to death!"

The cactus continued to approach the brothers. Mario was thinking of a plan.

"Hey, Luigi, do you think this guy works for Tatanga?"

"Uhh, I don't know. Is there anyway we can stop it?"

Mario was thinking until his light bulb suddenly flashed.

"Hey, I got it!" Mario said, "I think we have to find a way to trip it. Since it's moving like that, there is no way it could be latched on to the ground by long roots."

"Hey! You're right Bro!"

"Do you have some rope?"

"Yeah, it's in my knapsack."

Luigi took out the long rope from his knapsack and gave one end to Mario.

"Alright," said Mario, "On the count of three, we will run on either side of this cactus while holding the rope."

"Okie-doke."

"One… two… three!"

The brothers ran so the cactus went between them. This hit the cactus and with enough force, it fell down like a tree being chopped off from its base. To Mario's anticipation, the plan worked. Though the only problem now was that the rope snapped in half since one of the spines of the cactus pricked the rope.

"Wow, it's down," Luigi said in relief.

"Yeah. Too bad the rope snapped in half. We'll have to continue now."

With that, Mario and Luigi get their stuff from the oasis and continue to follow the shortcut written on their map.

Meanwhile, Tatanga discovered that the woman he thought was Lily was actually Daisy all grownup. This was a shock to Tatanga since he didn't expect to see Daisy as an adult. He could only imagine her as a pesky child. If this was Daisy, then where was Lily? He looked up this information using his goons and he quickly found out that Lily was dead around seven months ago. This was a shock for Tatanga, but not for long because he found that Daisy had much of Lily's features, from beauty to aggression. It was to the point that Lily's death wasn't shocking news to Tatanga anymore.

At the moment, Daisy was in the bedroom originally built for her mother. She was depressed and also scared by the fact that Tatanga was alive. She thought he was dead. This made her so frustrated that she punched the wall, hurting her hand a little.

"How…" Daisy mumbled to herself, "How the hell is he alive…?"

Daisy had a few tears rolling from her eyes, but she wasn't crying. She remembered the bad memory of having her mother captured by Tatanga when she was a little child. Those memories now haunted her. She wanted to get out, but she didn't know how to escape. The door into the room was locked so it was impossible to sneak out.

After what seemed to her to be days of entrapment in the bedroom, Daisy turned quickly and noticed that the bedroom door was opening. Tatanga came in, with a smirk on his face. This just disappointed Daisy more.

"Oh you better get that smirk off your face, or I'll smack it off!" Daisy sneered. Tatanga didn't seem threatened whatsoever by Daisy's statement.

"My, my, Daisy… Why do we have to resort to violence?" Tatanga smirked, "You know, I am actually quite in awe at your beauty."

"And just what do you mean by that! You creep!"

"Aw, yes. I can't blame you for being surprised my dear. The last time I knew you, you were a pipsqueak. But I am quite glad you have grown up to be a lovely lady."

"Don't you dare call me lovely! What are your intentions?"

"My intentions? Quite simple my dear, I wish to have you as my bride."

This instantly made Daisy sick to her stomach. How could he be so sick as to want to marry the same child he considered a brat long ago?

"You sick fool…" Daisy said in disgust, "How could you think of such a thing?"

"You can call me whatever you want, my love, but you will eventually learn to like me. That's all I have to say for now my lovely Daisy. I will see you later. I must arrange our wedding."

And with that, Tatanga left the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Daisy was still speechless. What kind of insane situation was she in? She was so struck and haunted by Tatanga's mad love for her that she collapsed on the bed, crying. Would anyone save her from this crazy alien?

"Hey Bro, how much longer do we have to go?" Luigi said tiredly as he and Mario continued to travel to their destination.

"About an hour," Mario replied.

"An hour? Will we ever make it?"

"Don't worry Luigi, we'll be fine with all the water we brought."

"But I drank all of it!"

Mario was dumbfounded by what Luigi said.

"Luigi! How did you drink all the water!?"

"I'm sorry Bro! I was so thirsty!"

This wasn't a good enough excuse for Mario.

"Oh great, now what are we suppose to do if we thirst to death?"

"I'm sorry, Bro! Really. Look, maybe we can find an oasis somewhere. Check the map."

Mario read the map carefully and found a terrible discovery; they were not on the route of the shortcut at all. Regardless of the shade and oasis the brothers encountered so far, the desert heat still drained them, thus causing the brothers to drift off the shortcut a little. By the time Mario figured that they were completely out of the shortcut, it was too late.

"Mama mia! Luigi, we're off the shortcut!"

"By how much?"

"About two miles!"

"What! Two miles! Two miles feels like two hours! How are we suppose to get to _Tango_ or whoever he is?"

"First of all, it's _Tatanga!_ And secondly, we can't panic. We'll find a way to–"

But suddenly, Luigi interrupted Mario when he saw something in the distance.

"Hey Bro, what's that, over there?" Luigi said, pointing at a yellow object in the horizon.

The object was a small yellow plane. It was sitting in the middle of the desert. Under further inspection, it could seat three people. It looked easy to control.

"Huh? What in the world is an airplane doing in middle of the desert?" Mario said, dumbfounded.

"I have no clue. Maybe we can use it to get to our destination faster."

"Hey, that's a great idea, Luigi. Hopefully, we won't be caught by Tatanga's minions."

"Wait. First of all, do you know how to operate an airplane, Bro?" Luigi asked.

"Well," said Mario, "I suppose it like driving a car."

With that instinct, Mario and Luigi jumped into the plane seats, Mario being on the pilot seat. After looking at the complicated control for a moment, Mario activated the engine, which seemed to choke a little, and started the plane. Fortunately for him, the plane started to take off once it was moving, but soon after that, it was hard for Mario to control. It was shaking.

"Wah! Mario! What's going on?"

"I'm trying to control this thing! Don't worry Luigi; we'll be fine."

After getting the plane in control, Mario realized that flying a plane was not like driving a car at all.

About half an hour later, a minion went to Tatanga to report some news.

"Sir, we have reason to believe that something is heading directly here."

"What makes you think so?" Tatanga said, as if it were no threat.

"Well, according to our watch-guards from the distant desert regions, there was a yellow airplane that passed by."

"Really?" Tatanga said, now a little aware.

"What do you suppose we do?"

"Well, if that plane is ever spotted again, make sure to shoot it down."

"Yes sir."

Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi were continuing their flight to their destination. Luigi pointed out to Mario that they were pretty close to their destination. After thinking for a moment, Mario decided to land their plane behind the large desert mound near the den's entrance. This way, the minions didn't know that there were 'intruders' arriving. After landing, which was rather difficult, Mario and Luigi walked out and proceeded to the den's entrance.

The entrance was a giant sand dune with a hollow cave at the base. Near the base were turrets and other security systems. Mario thought deeply.

"Bro, we have to find a way to get through those guns," Mario said.

"Well, Bro, maybe there is a secret entrance somewhere; you know, another way into the den," Luigi suggested.

"You know Luigi, that isn't a bad idea at all. But the problem now is where could this secret entry be?"

Wondering about this, Mario and Luigi prowled around the dune with the den's entrance. Moments later, Luigi felt like he was sinking.

"Hey, Bro… why does it feel like we are sinking?"

"I don't think it's quicksand, Luigi."

"What's make you so sure?"

Mario bent down and rubbed the sand at the bottom of his feet away. After literally digging with his hands, Mario found a metal door planted on the floor of the desert ground.

"Mama mia! A door! Great job, Bro."

"Yeah, we better enter and find Princess Daisy."

After opening and entering the secret door, Mario and Luigi went through some odd hallways that looked like the ones of an ancient palace, with pillars and all. This must have been where Tatanga lived.

Lucky for the brothers, they found a map of the entire palace painted on the wall at an end of a hallway. Mario honestly felt that it was rather dumb for Tatanga to have a map display so that 'spies' or 'intruders' can easily go places in the den palace without being lost.

"Hey, Bro, should I sketch this map?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Mario replied.

Luigi took out a piece of paper and a pen he brought in his backpack and started sketching. Also in the pack was a few Super Mushrooms just in case the brothers got hurt. Mario suddenly had an idea.

"Hey, Luigi, keep the map for yourself."

"Huh? Why Bro? Don't we both needed it?"

"Nah, it's okay. I'll memorize this map on the wall. You take that sketched map with you and find Princess Daisy."

"Bu- but, Bro… what will you do?"

"I'll fight Tatanga."

"What?! Are you crazy? No way, Bro!"

"It's okay Luigi. I'll be fine. Don't worry. You have to worry about the Princess."

There was a very short pause, followed by a quiet shrug from Luigi.

"Oh, okay, Bro. If you think that's best, we'll have it that way. But, you have to have some of these Super Mushrooms with you."

Luigi gave Mario three Super Mushrooms. Luigi had three more for himself.

"Thanks Luigi," Mario said, "Well, I guess we will be off then. Good luck."

"And good luck to you too, Bro."

With that, Mario and Luigi went off to their destinations; Luigi to Princess Daisy, and Mario to Tatanga. Both looked serious and were worried if their mission would succeed. Mario was more calm and serene than usual, probably due to the fact that he was worried for the Sarasa Kingdom. Mario tended to be like that, caring for others whether he knew them or not.

After Mario ran around many hallways, he found a large empty room. It almost looked like a stadium, but smaller. After Mario entered, the entrance to the mini-stadium closed behind him. Tatanga was in the room, waiting for him.

"Tatanga!" Mario said, looking at Tatanga with determination.

But Tatanga didn't look threatened at all. In fact, he laughed.

"Hmm… so you were the intruder who snuck into my underground palace. So pleasant to meet you. What is your name?"

"That is none of your concern! I'm here to defeat you," Mario said bravely.

"My, my. How rude. Should I teach you some manners?"

Very soon after he said that, Tatanga brought out a missile launcher and fired a missile at Mario. But to Tatanga's surprise, Mario easily dodged it. Tatanga was a little astonished at first, but then he laughed again.

"Ha! I see you have good maneuvers, for a fat man!"

Mario didn't seem offended at all by that. This slightly disappointed Tatanga.

"Okay, whatever! I'll destroy you, little man," Tatanga said proudly, "Oh, and before I kill you, did you have anyone else with you?"

"Why would I tell you? That's not your problem. You only concern should be me."

"Fine, don't answer my question! But even if you had someone else to look for your precious Princess, that person will have to face the guards guarding my love."

"And just what do you mean by 'love'?"

"Oh, it's simple. I plan to marry her."

This statement freaked out Mario.

"What!? How sick can you get?"

"You can say whatever you want about me, little man. Just know that you won't last so long in here."

Tatanga started to missiles again while Mario dodged them again. Then Tatanga brought his iron fist out and tried to hit Mario, but he dodged once again, almost being hit.

Meanwhile, Luigi was looking at his map and going through all the small hallways to go to the room where he believed where Princess Daisy was held captive.

"Hmm… this must be the room," Luigi said, looking at a big fancy door.

Expecting the door to be locked, Luigi was surprised when it opened. Inside he clearly saw the Princess, looking dull and suddenly turning towards Luigi. She was sitting on the bed. By the door were two large odd-looking guards. They looked like stony thugs. Princess Daisy was astonished to see someone else besides Tatanga entering the door. She wondered who he was.

"Hey, stop right there," one of the thugs said, blocking Luigi's view of Princess Daisy.

"We are the guards for the Bride and you cannot interfere with her or the Wedding," the other thug said.

"Huh? What wedding? What bride?" Luigi said, dumbfounded.

Hearing this from Luigi, Daisy figured that he wasn't associated with Tatanga. But she still wondered who he was.

"Insolent green one! You are not aware of the wedding of fair Princess Daisy and charming Sir Tatanga?" the other thug said.

"Eww! What! No way that's happening," Luigi said, getting in his fighting position.

For some odd reason, Luigi felt confident facing these two hideous thugs. Perhaps he didn't want to lose knowing that Princess Daisy was counting on him, and maybe Princess Peach for that matter from far away.

Luigi started attacking with a simple kick maneuver to one of the thugs. The kick didn't even faze the thug. In fact, Luigi's foot now hurt.

"Ouch! What are you guys made of anyway? Rock?"

"That is correct, green one. Now to squish you!"

The first thug tried to squish Luigi with his foot, but Luigi dodged just in time.

"_Jeez, that was close!"_ Luigi thought, _"I need to find a way to get these guys down. Hmm__…__ Maybe a Super Mushroom could help."_

Luigi took one of his Mushrooms and ate it. He wasn't injured or anything, but he ate it anyway. To his surprise, Luigi felt super strong afterward. Now was his chance to beat down the thugs.

The thugs tried to attack again, but this time Luigi dodged better than last time and was able to take down one of them in one single punch! Daisy and the remaining thug were surprised. Daisy suddenly was filled with hope and started to cheer on for Luigi.

"Fantastic! Show them what you got!"

Luigi blushed a little but was shortly dodging the remaining thug's attacks.

"You fool! You can't possible defeat us!" the thug yelled.

"We'll I just took down your friend there," Luigi said more confidently than ever.

And not so long after, Luigi did the same kick maneuver he tried the first time. This time, the thug flew a feet and dropped to the ground. Quite an accomplishment for fighting a bunch of stony men.

Luigi was so happy with his accomplishment that he forgot for a second that Daisy was there. For the first time Luigi got a good look at Daisy. She was beautiful. Luigi's heart was beating fast since he was able to save a princess like his brother. Daisy was calmer than usual but she smiled at Luigi.

"Wow! Good show you put up there. Are you her to save me?" Princess Daisy asked.

Luigi hesitated a bit since his shyness took the better of him.

"Well, um, yes."

"Really? Wow, how brave of you!"

Daisy came up and hugged Luigi. He was surprised by this sudden moment. He felt oddly special to be treated by a princess like this. It seemed that Daisy was very thankful, and who could blame her?

"Um, pardon me, but what's your name?" Daisy asked softly.

"Well, um, they call me Luigi, Luigi Tricocci."

"Luigi, huh? Well… thank you very much Luigi."

Daisy's soft tone caused Luigi to blush. It felt so good to be appreciated by a beautiful woman. Although, now Luigi worried about getting Daisy out of the den.

"Um, Princess, if you don't mind, we have to get out of here," Luigi stated.

"That would be great, Luigi. It's been about time for us to get out of this miserable place."

And with that, Luigi led Daisy out of the underground palace. He hoped that Mario would be okay.

Meanwhile, Mario continued to evade Tatanga's attacks. To Tatanga's surprise, Mario was able to give a few punches, damaging Tatanga in the gut and forehead. Mario never knew he was a good fighter before, but he was thankful that he was or he might not be able to protect himself. Tatanga had weapons. Mario only had his fists and feet.

"Well, Tatanga, I'm surprised that I lasted this long," Mario said calmly, but not proudly.

Tatanga was agitated by Mario's mere existence at this point.

"You damn fool! What is your motive? Tell me!"

"My motive? Simply save the Sarasa Kingdom from your wrath as I have been requested to do."

"Requested by who?"

"Well that's not your business. I really don't care how tough people say you are. I just have to stop you and your evil plans."

"Evil plans? How can marrying lovely Daisy be an evil plan? Tell me little man."

"Well simple. Princess Daisy doesn't want to marry you."

"What! And just how the damn hell would you know that?"

"Well, if anyone were in her position, I don't think anyone would want to wed you. I'm not trying to be personal or anything. It's just that it's implied. You've been known to be a terror to this Kingdom anyway, so I might as well stop you."

Tatanga started to laugh slowly. He was hysterical. Mario's statement seemed to make Tatanga insane. He ran up to Mario like a madman and punched Mario in the gut. The punch was so intense that Mario couldn't even scream. He fell to the ground, damaged and tired. Afterward, Tatanga chuckled like a hyena.

"HAHAHAHAHA! You IDIOT! You think that YOU can stop ME? Damn pest! Daisy is MINE! Not yours! I'll marry her if it's the last thing I do! So I'M a terror, huh? I'll show you TERROR!"

These were the last words Mario heard from Tatanga before he fell unconscious from Tatanga's devastating blow.

"Mama mia! When is Mario going to come back?"

Luigi and Daisy were by the yellow plane Mario flew earlier. Luigi was extremely worried for his brother. Daisy was a little concerned as well since she knew that Mario was fighting Tatanga.

"Gosh Luigi… I hope your brother is all right."

"You know, I can't just wait here. I have to know if he's okay. I'm going in."

"Wait Luigi! It might not be safe."

"Well, what else can I do?"

"I understand your pain, Luigi. But I'm not sure if we should enter that despicable place again."

There was a pause. Luigi was thinking.

"Hmm… If I did go, I couldn't leave you here. Something might come here and attack."

"You're probably right Luigi. Are you sure you want to go in?"

"Yes, Princess."

"All right then," Daisy nodded, "How about we both go in. I'll be close behind you."

"Yeah. Sounds like a great idea."

With that, Luigi and Daisy proceed into the den palace. There seemed to be no sign of security. Luigi used his map to pinpoint possible places Mario could have fought Tatanga. After many minutes of running (Daisy didn't seem to have any trouble catching up to Luigi), they found Mario lying on the floor of the mini-stadium. Tatanga was nowhere to be found. Daisy crouched down and patted Mario on the head.

"Um, Mario? Mario? Are you okay?" Daisy said.

Quickly realizing that Mario was unconscious, Daisy ceased her attempt to wake up Mario. Luigi watched close by as Daisy's right hand started to glow gold. Luigi was surprised by this and suddenly remembered Princess Peach's hand glowing the same way when she was trying to heal a wounded citizen.

"You have healing abilities?" Luigi asked in amazement.

"Yep. But unfortunately, I'm not able to heal as well as Princess Peach, so we can only hope your brother will wake up."

After a few moments of healing, Mario started to open his eyes. He moaned and suddenly noticed Princess Daisy right in front of him.

"Huh! Princess Daisy? But– but…"

"It's okay," Daisy said, smiling, "Your brother saved me, but he told me that you were fighting Tatanga."

"Really? Wait– but– but– Where is Tatanga?"

"Tatanga? I suppose you defeated him; am I correct?"

"No…"

"What do you mean 'no'?!" Luigi said astonished.

"Well, the last thing I remembered, I was punched in the belly by him."

Daisy and Luigi were shocked by this. They thought Mario defeated him.

"Really Mario? That's terrible," Daisy said.

"Then– then– what happened to him?" Luigi said, panicking.

"I don't know for sure," Mario shrugged.

But suddenly, Mario noticed purple blood spilled all over the ground behind Daisy and Luigi. They all turned to see the horror.

"Aieee! What in the world!" Luigi said, freaking out.

"Oh my!" Daisy gasped, "Could this be real? Could this be Tatanga's blood?"

"Wait… If this is Tatanga's blood, doesn't that mean that he's dead?" Luigi asked, shivering.

"That would make a lot of sense," Mario admitted, "But how? How did this happen?"

Daisy carefully observed the purple bloodshed.

"Judging by the amount of bloodshed here, I'd say that Tatanga doesn't have a good chance of living," Daisy explained.

"You're defiantly right about that," Mario agreed.

But to their surprise, the entire underground palace started to rumble. Luigi continued to panic.

"Waaa! Mario! This place is going tumbling down!"

"Don't worry, Luigi. We'll get out of here. Come on Princess."

"Right behind you guys."

For a princess, Daisy didn't seem to panic much, although it was easy to tell that she wanted to be out of the den before it collapsed on them. Mario, Luigi, and Daisy rushed out as fast as they could.

While evacuating, Mario found it rather unusual that there weren't much minions around. But suddenly, he heard yelling and running from behind.

"Look! There they are! After them!" a minion said to other goons.

"Oh great!" Luigi said while running, "There are a bunch of crazy goons at twelve o'clock!"

With all the rumbling and minions chasing them, Mario and the others didn't think they would make it. However, after several moments, they saw an opening.

"Great!" said Mario, "We have to get out of here before this place collapses."

The ground and the walls were shaking furiously, as if the den were alive and trying to engulf everyone in rubble. Daisy was keeping up well; she was pretty athletic for a princess. Although Luigi was lagging behind a little, he eventually caught up.

Within moments, Mario, Luigi, and Daisy were out of the horrible den palace, and just in time too. Right afterward, the den collapsed right in front of them. The minions chasing them were presumably dead at this point. The brothers and the Princess were panting.

"Goodness," Daisy panted, "That was quite an adventure, wasn't it?"

"You got that right," Luigi said, breathing and lying on the cool sand.

Mario was breathing hard as well, but he was really relieved that everyone was fine, especially the Princess. After resting a little, the brothers and the Princess were able to talk again.

"You know," Daisy started, "If this den collapsed, then I guess there would be no way for Tatanga to escape. It was reasonable enough to say that he was bleeding to death, but if he were alive even after that, then this den probably finished him off."

"So Tatanga is officially dead?" Mario asked.

"I definitely think so," Daisy said.

"But how did he bleed in the first place?" Luigi pondered.

Mario and Daisy also wondered about this.

"We probably might never know that," Daisy said, sighing. "The only possible situation where I could imagine that was the possibility of a minion accidentally shooting him. Perhaps. But who knows? At least we can be thankful to the stars that we are safe. Thank you so much for rescuing me guys."

She came up to Mario and hugged him.

"Thank you Mario."

Mario looked a little disappointed at first, but he eventually smiled. Daisy knew he was disappointed because he couldn't stop Tatanga.

"It was our duty," Mario replied to Daisy, half-happy, half-disappointed.

Then Daisy happily walked up to Luigi. Face-to-face, Daisy kissed Luigi's round nose. Luigi stood rather dumbfounded, but he blushed and was speechless afterward. Daisy winked.

"Thank you, Luigi. I mean you were the one who fought those goons bravely to rescue me. I thank you greatly."

At first, Mario was slightly shocked seeing Daisy kiss Luigi, but then he smiled; he realized that now Luigi knew how it was like to save a princess and be kissed by her afterward. Daisy smiled greatly seeing Luigi blush; it was rare that Daisy would kiss anyone like that. Luigi smiled dumbly.

"Oh, it was no problem Princess!" Luigi said proudly. Daisy giggled to Luigi's reaction.

Mario looked at the sky; it was starting to get dark.

"Hey, guys. The sunset is almost coming. Let all go home."

"Yeah!" Daisy smiled.

Moments later, Mario and Luigi led Daisy to the yellow airplane that the brothers used to get here. Daisy was glad it could easily fit three people.

After taking off, Mario and Luigi told Daisy about their long adventure across the desert. Daisy was quite impressed with them. She said that she had to honor the brothers in public just as Peach did when she was rescued by them. Then Daisy told Mario where to fly to get to her palace.

"Sir, do you think Princess Daisy will be all right?"

Back at Daisy's Castle, Peach was with Daisy's steward, Toadsoph, who was Toadish. He looked similar to Toadsworth, except Toadsoph had no spectacles and he looked a little younger than Toadsworth. He wore an orange-brown suit and the spots on his mushroom cap were light orange.

Peach, Toadsoph, Toadsworth, and other people in the castle were waiting for Daisy's return.

"I hope so," Toadsoph replied to Peach's question. "I have heard about how the Mario Brothers saved you from trouble, so I am actually confident that they will rescue our Princess Daisy."

The sun was setting and Peach was getting worried by the minute. She hoped that Mario and Luigi survived the desert and Tatanga to get to Daisy.

Suddenly, a Toadish ran into the room. Peach presumed that he was a herald.

"Guys, I have news!" he started, "We found that a yellow airplane landed at Princess Daisy's private landing strip. You won't believe who's in it!"

"Who?" Peach and the others said.

"It's the Mario Brothers and Princess Daisy! They are all fine and will be here in a few moments!"

This news shocked everyone, in a good way. They all cheered.

"Wow! They really did it!" Peach said to herself, crying for joy. "They saved her, just as I hoped."

Soon afterward, the doors of the throne room opened, where Peach and the others were. In came Mario, Luigi, and Daisy. Everyone cheered again. Peach came up to Daisy and hugged her.

"Oh Daisy! Are you all right?"

"Don't worry about me, Peach," Daisy smiled, "I'm all right. We should all be very thankful to the Mario and Luigi."

"Yes, we should. Mario, Luigi. We would like to thank you very much for rescuing Princess Daisy."

Everyone seemed to cheer for Mario and Luigi. Once again like before, they felt honor to be respected like this. The brothers and Peach stayed at the Sarasa Kingdom overnight because the following day, Princess Daisy wanted to honor the Mario Brothers. The news of the Mario Brothers rescuing Daisy spread throughout the Sarasa Kingdom and the Mushroom Kingdom like wildfire.


	27. Cave of 100 Corpses

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Peach, Mario, Luigi, Daisy, Toadsworth, Toad, Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser, and Koopas (C) Nintendo.

Zhedo, Joro, and Lopokan (C) me.

_Caution: This chapter contains blood and violence_.

Cave of 100 Corpses

It was around a week since the Mario Brothers rescued the Sarasan Princess, Daisy Toadstool. When Mario and Luigi returned to the Mushroom Kingdom from their adventure, they were praised a lot for the courageous act they did.

Peach was obviously proud of the brothers as well. Lately, she had been really happy, ever since the Mario Brothers came into her life. She was always thinking about them, which was rather unusual for a princess, but no one knew, so it didn't matter.

In fact, she respected the brothers a lot that she one time pondered about the terrible scenario of her encounter with them while in her 'vampire state'. So far in her life, Peach had successfully live two lives in one; one life as a graceful, innocent princess and the other life as a sly, hungry vampire. She would hate to meet Mario or Luigi while hunting for a victim. Good thing this thought didn't really bother her though.

It was a cool October night with the orange leaves drifting in the breeze. Peach once again felt the temptation to feed. So she snuck out the castle as she always would and went south. One thing Peach made sure of was that she didn't feast in the same village for many nights. If this were to happen, then people would become suspicious and wonder why villagers suddenly disappeared.

Fortunately for Peach, there were many small, peaceful villages in Starman Valley. Some were also in forest within the region, with made for excellent hunting grounds for Peach; she liked hunting in the forest. She didn't really mind walking to these places; in fact, this helped her practice her stealth, since going to another village looking for blood wasn't a walk at the park.

She wore a very dark, slim gown. It really revealed the dark side of the dear princess, and it also emphasized her curves. It had spider lacing at the bottom of the hanging cloth, on the sides of the corset, and on the region above her chest. On her chest was a diamond-shaped purple gem, kind of like the round blue gem on the chest portion of her royal dress. This purple gem was almost black, but it shone tints of purple in the moonlight. The gown also came with a pair of grey gloves, each with lacing at the bottom. She looked rather sensual in it, which was why she would hate to wear it in the public.

But she only used this gown when she was hunting for prey. She found it in a very old black chest in the darkest corner of her attic. No one would have ever noticed the chest. One day, she stumbled upon the vampiric gown while searching her attic for memories of her past. She found this when she was turning seventeen. For a while, she pondered of the origins of the sensuous gown, but she was afraid of asking anyone.

Regardless of how sensual she looked in it, Peach relied on her dress to attract prey into the forest where she would feast on them without being disturbed. Over the years of hunting, Peach found she had certain preferences of how she should hunt. First of all, every single victim up to this point was male. She couldn't really imagine herself feasting off a woman, but she felt it was possible; she just didn't want to.

Secondly, she lures her victims into isolated locations. She had heard of some vampires killing their prey right on the spot, but she didn't find this convenient, since she was at risk of revealing herself to others. By luring her victim into the forest, Peach would quietly feast where people wouldn't wander. If she unintentionally attracted two or three humans, then she would make sure that none of them made it out the forest alive. This was a desperate act she had to make or else any 'survivors' would reveal her secret identity to the public.

And lastly, Peach always tried her best to reduce the amount of pain she brought to her prey. She never thus far in her life kill solely for pleasure, which she presumed most vampires liked doing. She would comfortably sooth her victim, embrace him, and then bit him softly. That way, the man would die a quick death.

She had been hunting like this for a long while, but it never felt repetitive. She always experienced something new; a different victim, a different place, and a different condition. She honestly liked it like that, but there was always a voice in the back of her head that said,

_Please, what are you doing? Why do you continue to end the lives of these innocent people? You know the Starmen will never forgive you._

That same voice always bothered her at least once while hunting. She knew it was her own voice and she was telling herself to stop.

That would have been impossible.

Peach knew very well that if she stopped consuming, she would die. That's just how it was for a vampire. She never denied this truth.

Peach still used the cave she found as a child to place her deceased victims. She would manage to go there every time she killed someone and bury him, always writing 'R.I.P.' on the soft ground when she was done. Sometimes she even wrote 'Sorry' alongside the R.I.P. This would explain Peach's pity for her victims, since they seem to be somewhat innocent or otherwise, nice gentlemen.

But tonight was going to be very different. Peach arrived at a nice quiet village sitting in the middle of the forest. She emerged out the forest and carefully traveled on the pathway, hoping no one would see her.

As she made it closer to the village, Peach noticed that one of the small houses still had its lights opened. It was nearly midnight.

"_Who could still be awake at this time?"_ Peach thought curiously.

She snuck around the edge of the village and peeked at the window of the house. There were two tall, stiff men holding pistols. She was startled by this. The men wore black leather coats. The coats seemed to make their faces a bit hidden, so Peach couldn't identify them. They both had somewhat harsh voices.

"Zhedo, I heard from our men that Princess Peach was traveling south here," the first man said to the second man, named Zhedo.

"Really Lopokan? That's quite a coincidence. We were going to kill that disgusting vampire here," Zhedo laughed.

Peach gasped. There were men out there spying on her. This angered her. She wondered if these people were associated with the vampire hunters she encountered when she was younger. She realized that she was probably going to be hunted down soon if she stayed. She was awfully thirsty, but she had no choice but to satisfy her thirst later until she was a safe distance from these men.

She prowled around the edge of the village and entered the forest again. Traveling through the forest wasn't a problem for her at all. In fact, she did so swiftly and gracefully, like an elegant and sly predator.

She proceeded northeast to the villages east of her castle. There she felt she would be safe.

She was as careful as possible to avoid going outside the forest into grasslands, where she could be easily seen. There were various scattered forests between the southern villages and the eastern villages. She was getting thirsty by the second. Her patience was starting to run out. She felt she would have been really lucky to find somebody in the middle of the forest, but she knew that would be practically impossible.

But to her surprise, she saw a man calmly standing in a gap between the trees of the forest. The trees seemed to have encircled the man. He wore a black coat like the men Peach saw earlier. He looked like he was holding a walkie-talkie. Peach camouflaged herself within the darkness of the forest, watching the man carefully. She felt that if she stuck at the right time, she would have herself a nice meal.

The man did not seem to be afraid at all, even though the moonlight was shining around him, making him clearly visible, and also considering that the forest looked rather creepy in the autumn night.

The man was talking in his walkie-talkie; Peach listened carefully from her distance.

"Hello… Lopokan? What's wrong…? Hmm… Huh! She's not there? What do you mean she's not there? But- but… So you're saying she could be coming this way…? Oh alright, I'll get my weapon ready just in case she attacks. Is that all? Okay. Joro out."

The man named by Joro ended his call. He got out his magnum. Now Peach was concerned; she thought she probably wouldn't live much longer if she were shot by a magnum bullet. She completely forgot that she had regeneration abilities, since she was never injured since the night she was stabbed years ago. She kept her place, disappointed that she couldn't take the risk of attacking him.

And there was another thing she was disappointed about: Lopokan somehow knew that she left the previous village she was in.

Her mind and her stomach were losing more patience; she really wanted to attack Joro. She was hungry.

Not so long later, there was another call on Joro's walkie-talkie. He was in some vigilant stance while holding the magnum and the walkie-talkie.

"Hello? Yeah, this is Joro. What happened… umm… you discovered a cave? Wait… it's a… _what_? But- but… how can that be? Is it really a grave? No way! Hold on. I'll be there quickly."

Joro ended his call and quickly left his position. Peach was once again angry. She knew now that those vampire hunters discovered the cave where all of her victims rested in peace. She could not afford having those men bombarding in her 'territory'.

She carefully followed Joro through the forest without revealing her presence to him. After several minutes, Peach found herself passing the first village where she hunted as a child. She submerged within the trees of the surrounding forest as she watched Joro and the other men with sharp eyes. Joro made it to the cave.

There were men already there all wearing similar coats. Peach presumed that it was a method of camouflage in the darkness of the night. But because of Peach's enhanced vampire senses, she could see them perfectly in the dead of night, like a patient owl.

Joro was just told about what the other men found in the cave.

"No way!" Joro said in shock, looking at all of the handmade graves in the cave. Grave after grave wrote 'R.I.P.' like a grid.

"We have counted that there are eighty-five graves here," one of the men told Joro.

"For stars' sakes! Did she really kill all of these people?" Joro asked.

"Well, suppose she started awfully young."

"Did you tell Zhedo about this?"

"Yes. He, Lopokan, and a three other men are coming here as we speak."

Peach counted the men she could see so far. After counting ten, she determined that there would be a total of fifteen men at her cave once Zhedo and the others arrived. She tried to think of what she would do to these men. She was thirstier than ever, and she needed a human victim.

Peach felt that she only needed to feast on a few men. She decided that she would drink a little from a few; the rest she would kill in anyway she could. Peach also had claws, but until this point, she never used them yet. She was actually looking forward to killing these men, since they were spying on her earlier and were trespassing in her cave. This fueled her angered and silenced her pity. Already she could taste the sweet blood of the men in her mouth.

Several minutes later, Zhedo, Lopokan, and three other men arrived at the scene. Joro and others showed them the cave, which they dubbed 'the Cave of Graves.' They were surprised by this terrible discovery. Zhedo frowned, indicating that something like this was probably expected.

"Hmph. What did you expect from a wild person like her with such a royal reputation," Zhedo pouted.

This statement offended and infuriated Peach. She did not like that Zhedo whatsoever.

"I can't believe nobody realizes the truth about this woman. She's a pest to our society, and like all pests, she must be exterminated."

Now Peach was really angry. Living in a world where most people loved and respected her, Peach found Zhedo's comments absolutely odious. Now she was ready to attack. But she wanted to have a little fun; she wanted to scare these men for insulting her and trespassing in her burial cave. Her pity was minimal at this point. She smirked evilly; she was going to enjoy this.

She decided to announce the death of these men. She was confident that she wouldn't get hurt if she petrified these men in fear.

She started letting out a playful but vile laugh.

"Huh! Who was that?" Lopokan questioned.

"I think it's 'her'," Joro said.

"Ah, you are very smart, for a human who disrespectfully trespasses in my territory," Peach chuckled. She was hidden the forest.

"Your territory? What do you mean by that?" Zhedo demanded. They couldn't see her, but they had a slight clue where she was. She laughed again.

"Oh Zhedo! Don't make me laugh! I mean this is _my_ kingdom after all. You're lucky enough I let people like you walk upon my land. But now it's time for all of your lives to end. Mwahahaha…"

Joro tried to shoot in the direction of the voice. After a few moments, he knew he missed; Peach was not there.

All the men were armed. There was nothing but silence.

Then suddenly, Peach miraculously came out from the opposite direction where the men first heard her voice. She wrapped her arms around a man and dragged him into the forest. He was screaming for his life, knowing he wouldn't last long. Lopokan ran out and tried to pull him back out, but Peach's grip was too strong.

"HELP ME! DON'T LET HER KILL ME!!"

Lopokan let go, knowing he couldn't bring the companion out of her clutches. The victim disappeared into the forest, still yelling. Not soon after, he screeched horrifically and then faded out.

Once again, Joro tried to shoot where he believed Peach was. This time he heard something like flesh getting hit. He was about to go in and check it out, but Zhedo stopped him and pointed in the opposite direction.

"Joro, she's over there, you didn't hit her."

Peach revealed herself on the opposite side. It was a gap in the forest, but a little bigger. She was deadly and beautiful. Blood was dripping off her chin.

"Mmmmm… your poor friend was awfully delicious! I'm afraid I didn't drink much from him, so I'm still thirsty. Who wants to die next?"

Joro tried to shoot her, but she disappeared in what seemed to be like lightning speed. Everyone was shocked. Her speed was unimaginable. Peach reappeared, with a tiny wound on her right arm. She chuckled.

"Wow, that was quite impressive! You managed to give me a small burse. I'm afraid you will be next!"

Joro was alert. The others were looking around vigilantly for any signs of Peach.

Abruptly, Peach appeared right in front of Joro. He was petrified. Peach quickly took his magnum and disappeared. To Joro, all of that seemed to be like a second and he couldn't react.

"Damn she's fast," Joro said in shock.

"What! Oh great," Zhedo exclaimed, "She took our only magnum. Now we're in trouble. There's no point just standing here. Go out and find her!"

All the men listened to Zhedo's command and went into the forest to find Peach. To her, this was a terrible mistake for them, since she had perfect vision at night and the men could only see with their flashlights.

Not so soon after, Joro, Lopokan, and Zhedo heard shrieking, some one else fell victim to Peach just now. They all ran in the direction where they heard the yelling and found a man with a gruesome claw slash around his chest.

"Oh great, she's using her claws," Joro said astonished.

Not soon after, they heard flesh tearing and more screaming from a distance; Peach killed some more men with her claws.

"Man, there's no way we can survive!" Lopokan exclaimed.

But suddenly, a shadow, obviously Peach, dashed by and grabbed Lopokan. He disappeared in moments screaming for his life.

"What! Where did Lopokan go?!" Zhedo demanded.

They heard continuous, bloodcurdling screams from above them, followed by cracking of the body, then immediate silence. Blood dripped on Joro's head. He was scared for real this time. He gulped and looked above him. There he saw Peach sitting on a thick tree branch, feasting on Lopokan's blood. The scene was gruesome. Lopokan's face was mutilated and his hands looked like they were going to fall off. Regardless of the ugly carcass, Peach looked rather calm and even innocent up there drinking. After she was finished with her misfortunate prey, she dropped him from above. While falling, his body was entangled and twisted by the branches and looked like a beat up body once it fell to the ground.

The mere scene of it was so scary that it made Joro want to yell in fear. But Zhedo kept his cool.

"At this point, it's every man on his own, Joro," Zhedo said with frustration and despair, "We'll be lucky enough to make it out of this forest alive."

"Understood sir."

And with that, Zhedo and Joro went out and try to aid any of their men they find in the forest.

But of course, that would be hard.

One man after another was dying by the hands of Peach. And the interval between the screaming wasn't long either. It was as if Peach were saving Joro and Zhedo for last.

It wasn't long after Joro and Zhedo easily noticed blood and corpses on the ground. And none of the corpses they found had bite marks. In fact, these guys had claw marks. Such a thing was barbaric because it was as if Peach were saving Joro and Zhedo for last solely to drink from.

It was official; all the men of Zhedo's vampire-hunting team were dead, with the exception of Joro and Zhedo himself.

Peach was still hungry. She looked from atop a tree at Zhedo and Joro. She licked her lips; the mere thought of those men in much peril and fear was a rather delicious notion. Peach swooped down like an owl and grabbed Joro. Zhedo was the only one left. He looked in shock. He honestly didn't think it would end up like this. At this point, he had no other choice but leave the forest.

Meanwhile, Peach pinned Joro down on a tree. She looked innocent and vicious at the same time. Joro was more afraid than ever, but he didn't want Peach to know that.

"Arg! Let me go! You don't know what you're getting yourself into!" Joro barked.

"Oh really? Look who's talking. After what you guys did, do you expect me to spare your pathetic lives? I don't think so! And while I'm at it, I might as well have a nice human treat. You look quite scrumptious to me."

The mere words made Joro cringe. He didn't want to die.

"You wouldn't!"

Peach giggled.

"Oh yes I would. I'm awfully thirsty, you know. I'm sure you wouldn't want your beloved princess to thirst to death."

"Actually, I would!" Joro said angrily.

Peach was impressed by his bravery.

"Wow, quite a brave thing to say to your murderess! Well I don't wish to wait any longer. You will join all of your friends soon. Good-bye! Mwahahahahaha…"

Peach grabbed Joro viscously and bit him on the neck. Her claws punctured his body as she held him. She bit hard, which she usually wouldn't do. Joro screamed to death. Peach was enjoying his blood but remembered that she still had to save room for Zhedo's blood. She released her fangs. Joro was pale and lifeless. Peach smiled and let him go. He fell to the floor, dead.

Peach relied on her sense of smell to track down Zhedo. Peach tracked him from afar. She presumed that Zhedo was trying to leave the forest. She thought it would be entertaining to make Zhedo think he would leave alive but then find himself in her clutches. She giggled innocently to this thought; she treated this like a game of hide-and-seek.

Zhedo saw some houses; this built some relief in him because he thought he was out of danger. He walked forward some more, but suddenly a slender arm came from behind him and wrapped around his waist. Another arm came out and covered his mouth.

Peach found him.

"Ah, my dear Zhedo. What were you thinking? You couldn't possibly escape."

Peach took him back into the forest. He was struggling for his life. She smirked vilely while dragging him back in, like tentacles enwrapping its prey.

She decided to play with him for a little longer. She released him. He stepped back slowly looking at Peach in fear. She was smiling vilely again. This was the first time Zhedo was really afraid. Peach hissed at him which further scared him and out of fear, he ran for his life the other way. Peach giggled.

"Wow, I never had this much fun ever since I was a child," Peach giggled.

Peach walked elegantly toward her running victim, who was rather far away now.

Zhedo was in the gap of trees where his men first met the terror that was Princess Peach. He panted like crazy kneeling on the floor. He was sweating all over. After getting up, Zhedo looked around for any signs for Peach. After finding nothing, Zhedo sighed in relief.

He turned around to miraculously find Peach behind him.

"Hello," Peach said sweetly.

Zhedo freaked out and ran away. Peach was actually surprised by how afraid he was. She liked it, thus giggled some more.

"Hmm… I wonder if I could possible scare him to death. Mmm… I'm still thirsty. I feel so alive tonight; this wasn't half as bad as I thought. I'll scare him some more."

Peach went off again after her prey like a playful little girl. Zhedo was by the cave's entrance. He panted again. He wondered if he could possibly find a way to make a deal with Peach.

But all a sudden, Zhedo found Peach hanging above him like a bat. She licked her lips. Zhedo was ghost white in fear. He ran into the cave, which Peach was rather surprised about. He should have known that was a dead-end. Peach guessed that since there was nowhere else for him to run, her playful yet haunting pursuit was over. Now she had to be serious with him, since he was apparently the leader of the 'group.'

Peach walked gracefully in the cave, which made her look sensuous with every step. She chuckled malevolently, making her fangs shine in the moonlight. Zhedo was helpless at this point. He was a goner.

Peach proceeded to Zhedo, who was cornered at the end of the cave. Seeing all the graves along with the murderess who caused all of these deaths emphasized the fear Zhedo had. At this point, Peach could only smile; she didn't want to pity him.

"_What do you want from me!?_" Zhedo questioned dreadfully.

"You should know that answer to that, Zhedo," Peach said slowly and vilely, "You realize that you have angered me very much tonight, which was why I saved you for last."

"You fiend! You can't kill me!"

"Why not? Your denial won't take you anywhere. Just admit it; you're cornered and helpless. This is what you get for insulting me, your princess and ruler of this kingdom!"

She hissed at him, which made him cower in his corner. Peach smirked to his reaction.

"I mean look at you! You were rather brave at first, I must admit. But slowly you became frustrated and now entirely plagued by fear. I am amazed at my own ability to scare people. Quite impressive."

"You think this is a game?! You might have won this time, but mark my word; you will die sooner or later!"

This statement made Peach laugh like a Gothic queen.

"Oh don't make me laugh! How do you expect that? I'm sure there are more fools out there like you, but trust me; there's no way they will even lay a finger on me!"

There was a pause. Zhedo was panting. Peach talked some more.

"You know, it's kind of too bad that you have to die this way. Most of my victims don't experience such a painful suffering. But then again, I guess you deserved this."

"You won't get away with this!"

Peach yawned uninterestedly.

"I've heard that one before," Peach said unenthusiastically, but then she smirked again. "Now it's time for you to suffer after what you've done. You have no place in my kingdom anymore!"

Peach got out her claws and slashed Zhedo's abdomen. He shrieked in pain, kneeling down. Then Peach kicked him on the head barbarically. He flew a few feet. He continued to wince in pain. Then Peach gathered a small energy ball in her hand and blasted it on Zhedo's face. He flew some more. He felt the pain would never end.

Seeming like it wasn't enough for her, Peach walked up to Zhedo, carried him by the collar, and stabbed him on the gut with her claws. He coughed out some blood.

"Pl…eease… do…ont… kill… meeee…"

But of course, Peach didn't listen. It was finally time for her to have a real feast. She licked Zhedo's bare shoulder and sank her fangs into his flesh. He did not yell much because he was already in pain. Peach smoothly sucked on his shoulder. Since there was no one around to bother her, she decided to savor her feast. She let the sweet red fluid waltz in her mouth. Just like always, she would take it in by relatively small gulps. Once again, she took the pleasure of having the blood flow slowly down her throat into her stomach. When she was finished, she licked the extra blood from her moist lips. She was relieved that she succeeded in killing fifteen armed men. She giggled mischievously.

"Good-bye Zhedo. I wouldn't want to be you."

After thinking about what she did on this night, she got up, gathered all fifteen corpses, and buried them. As always, she would write 'R.I.P.', but she didn't write 'Sorry'. She noticed that after dragging the men into the cave, there were tracks of fresh blood residue. She ignored it; she knew her cave would be discovered eventually anyway, so she didn't worry about commoners or the media discovering the cave. Besides, no one would ever know who buried these people.

"Princess! You won't believe what's on the news today!"

It was afternoon on the day after the death of Zhedo's men. Peach just took a shower and was combing her hair. Toad politely knocked on her bedroom door, but seemed to be in some sort of panic.

"What is it Toad?" Peach asked calmly after opening her door.

"There're some nasty things happening in the forest east of us! You gotta see! It's on T.V.," Toad said, jumping up and down.

This was no surprise to Peach, but in order not to look suspicious, Peach looked as concerned as she could.

"Really?" Peach said in a slightly worried tone, "I'll be downstairs quickly."

Peach finished combing her hair, putting on her earrings and her crown, and ran downstairs to the living room, where the television was.

All of her Toadish servants were watching along with Toadsworth and even the Mario Brothers were there too! Peach could only presume that Toadsworth invited them over to share this 'terrible news'. She could tell Luigi was already scared and Mario looked wide-eyed at the screen seeing 'her cave' on television.

The television, as Peach anticipated would happen eventually, was revealing the murder scene with residue of blood scattered around various parts of the forest surrounding the mysterious cave, which was found near the Castle's closest village. The news crew showed the inside of the cave with flashlights flashing at the makeshift graves.

"This is quite a spooky sight," the news-reporter said on the television, "Our crew had counted exactly one hundred of these mysterious graves. Who could've caused all of this?"

The Toadish and Mario Brothers were scared after seeing the cave.

"Princess! Aren't you-a worried?" Mario asked Peach, "I mean, they said earlier that this place was-a not too far from-a here!"

Peach sighed, pretending to look preoccupied when she honestly didn't care.

"Well, Mario. This does worry me a bit, but you know, there are many odd things that have been happening here for quite some time. See, when I was a child, the news reported of mysterious murders in this area, but no one from this castle, or this castle itself, was ever involved. I can't help but feel a little safe, regardless of these odd circumstances."

"Oh," Mario said, "I see… umm… But who do you think did this?"

"Well Mario… honestly, I'm not really sure about that," Peach lied.

"Well the news did share a theory that stated that Koopas could have done this," Toadsworth stated, "Perhaps they are responsible for this!"

"Koopas?" Peach wondered, "Well, are you sure about that, Toadsworth? I'd assume that the Koopas have already learned their lesson, after their leader was defeated by our dear heroes. And besides, if they managed to get all the way down here, wouldn't they attack us as well?"

"Well… Maybe those Koopas are trying to scare us!" Toad suggested.

"You really think so?" Peach asked, pretending to be more worried.

"Well even if they are, we will protect you, Princess," Mario said bravely, regardless of how much he freaked out from the news.

"Really Mario? Aww… how sweet of you!" Peach said.

"Oh yeah, Princess, the news-reporter said that they are investigating the cave and its immediate vicinity, so that place is off limits now," Toad said.

"I see," Peach nodded. Now that humans had discovered her cave, she would have to find somewhere else to bury her future human prey. She was as careful as possible not to express this thought via face expressions. She tried to smile optimistically.

"Well, you know guys… I think whoever caused the bloodshed and the burials at that cave will be caught eventually," Peach said optimistically. She just hoped they never suspected her.

"Yes, you are absolutely right!" Toadsworth said.

"Hopefully this won't happen again," Luigi sighed.

"Oh, don't worry Luigi," Peach said, "I think every thing is going to be all right now."


	28. Subcon: Dream World in Nightmare

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach, Koopas, Bowser, Koopas, Mushroom Kingdom, Subcon, Wart, Birdo, Clawgrip, Fry Guy, Triclyde, Phantos, Mouser, Pidgit, Panser, Autobomb, Shy Guy, Beezo, Snifit, Subconian Fairy, Porcupos, Cobrat, Heart Radish, Flurry, Pokey, Albatoss, and Bob-ombs (C) Nintendo.

Subcon: Dream World in Nightmare

Mario was in some unknown empty void. He was lost and confused. It was blue everywhere. The only object he could recognize was a long stairway. The stairway seemed to go on forever. Of course, being determined as always, Mario attempted to climb these long, ominous stairs. After what seemed to be like forever, Mario finally made it to the top. He saw a door at the end of the stairway, but there was nothing else. Deciding there was no other way to go, Mario carefully opened the door.

The door let in bright light, which made Mario cover his face. After entering into the door, Mario saw a beautiful world that was quite lively. It looked like paradise. There were lush forests, peaceful prairies, and beautiful clouds in the jay blue sky.

There was a calm peaceful voice that sounded like the voice of a small person. Mario didn't know where the voice came from, but he listened while looking around the beautiful land.

"_This is Subcon, the land of dreams. Our land is the source of all good dreams, for Mushroomers, Koopas, Sarasans, anyone! As you might expect, this land is __–__ or should I say 'was' __–__ peaceful and sincere."_

Mario noticed a sudden change in the landscape when the voice said the last sentence. The sky was turning grey and a little dull. It began to rain and the forests and grasslands didn't look a peaceful as it used to be.

"_All was well, until one day, the mischief-making frog Wart took over Subcon by using magic to lay a powerful curse upon the land. We Subconians are under his terrible rule now. He has hired some awful monsters to patrol the land. He must be stopped."_

The weather was getting worse by the second. Thunder and lightning plagued the skies. He felt cold all over. He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he found himself in his house again. He now knew that all that stuff about Subcon, stairways, and monsters were all just a dream. He found himself on the floor after he figured that he fell out his bed!

Seeing the sun shining on the horizon, he figured that he probably shouldn't attempt to go back to sleep. It was late October and only a few days since the 'cave incident'. Mario pondered about the dream he had; did it mean something? Was it a prophecy? Was Subcon even real? Mario had a little trouble believing in a 'land of dreams'.

"I'll get it."

It was around ten in the morning now, and Mario and Luigi were eating breakfast. Mario was reading the paper for any updates on the spooky 'Cave of One Hundred Graves'. Someone was knocking on their door so Luigi insisted on getting the door.

When he opened, he saw Toad. He didn't look panicked at all; in fact, he looked excited.

"Oh, good morning Luigi!" Toad greeted.

"Good morning. What's happening?"

"Well… today was the day our Princess planned to have that picnic with you guys."

"Really? That's-a great! When will we go?"

"Well, you don't have to really rush or anything, but the Princess would appreciate that we left as soon as we are all ready. So I guess you guys should get ready now and come to the castle."

"Okie-doke. We'll be ready."

"All right. See ya!"

Toad proceeded back to the castle while Luigi closed the door and told Mario about preparing for the picnic. Mario and Luigi were very excited about the wonderful picnic they would have with the beloved Princess and her trusty servant.

Once they were ready, they proceeded to Peach's castle. Peach opened the door and happily let them in.

"Ah! Good morning, Mario and Luigi!" she greeted.

"Good morning, Princess!" the brothers said back in unison.

"Are you guys ready?" Peach asked.

"Yeah," Mario replied, "We brought a frisbee and a bunch of stories, right Luigi?" Mario nudged Luigi.

"You bet," Luigi said.

"Perfect!" said Peach, "We have the food ready and everything; Toad will bring it here soon. And you know… I might have some stories of my own to share." Peach smiled gleefully.

"That's good," Mario said.

Toad came in with the picnic basket and other stuff.

"All right. Are we all ready?" Toad asked.

"Yep," Peach said, "Let's go guys."

Peach, Mario, Luigi, and Toad head off to their picnic. When Peach opened the front door, Peach and the others saw a horse drawn carriage and a driver. They got on and started to go.

"Wait," Luigi wondered, "Princess, where exactly are we going?"

Peach giggled to his question.

"Oh, Luigi! We are going to have our picnic silly!" Peach giggled.

"I know that, but where?"

"Oh! Well… It's hard to explain. But what I do know is that it's a beautiful place on a hilly region of the Starman Valley Province. From this location, you could easily see a nice view of the beautiful valley region. The Castle will be a tiny dot in the horizon. It's very peaceful. You'll see."

After many minutes, Peach and the others made it to a hilly area. It was rather elevated over the beautiful meadows of Starman Valley. But this elevated area was flat and pleasant. Peach and the others got out the carriage and set up their picnic. Peach told the driver to return at five o'clock and he left.

Mario and Luigi looked out in the horizon to see the beautiful scene of the Mushroomer landscape from the elevated hills. It was beautiful.

"Wow…" Luigi said in wonder, "Isn't this great?"

"Yeah," Mario replied in the same tone.

Peach, Toad, and the brothers had a wonderful time at their picnic. The food was good and they told many great stories. It seemed that Peach wouldn't stop smiling, which secretly made Mario smile some more.

After a while, they started to use the frisbee Mario brought. Luigi was passing it to Peach but she missed and it started to roll on the ground.

"Oops," Peach said, slightly embarrassed that she couldn't catch it.

"I'll get it," Toad insisted.

Toad pursued the frisbee, running some distance. He saw it roll into a cave nearby on the very cliffy edges of the hills. He had no other choice but to go in. Actually he wasn't worried or anything, but he did discover something amazing.

Once Toad managed to get the frisbee back, he looked up and saw an enormous set of stairs in front of him, inside the cave.

"Whoa!" Toad said in awe, "Where do these lead to? I wonder…"

Keeping the stairs in his thoughts, Toad ran back to the others to tell them what he found.

"Guys! You won't believe what I saw!" Toad called.

"What did you see, Toad?" Peach asked.

"Yeah," said Luigi, wondering why Toad looked so startled, "What happened?"

"Okay, so I was getting the frisbee, right? Well it rolled into a cave and inside the cave were these HUGE stairs. I mean, it was amazing!"

"Really?" Peach said, "Hmmm… Let's see these stairs."

"Do we leave everything behind?" Mario asked.

"Sure," Peach said, "I presume the cave wasn't so far, right? And anyways, who would meddle with our stuff all the way out here?"

"Yeah," said Luigi.

With that, Toad led the others to the cave. Inside, they all saw the ominous stairway. They were all amazed.

"Whoa! Who built this thing!?" Luigi exclaimed.

"I never even heard of such a stairway before," Peach said, "I haven't read anything about this! I also wonder who could have built it."

Mario studied it and pondered. He had an odd feeling that he saw this before.

"Hmmm… This looks familiar, but I just can't recall," Mario said.

"Well," said Toad, "Maybe we should find out what's on top.

Considering Toad's suggestion and forgetting that they even had a picnic, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad climbed the stairs. It took some time to get to the top, but once they did, Mario had the same odd feeling of remembering something related to this. Peach opened the big red door at the end of the stairs.

Inside, they saw paradise. Now Mario remembered what this reminded him. The beautiful scene was just like his dream he had earlier.

"What, now I remember this place!" Mario jumped, "This was the Subcon World I saw in my dream!"

"A dream?" Peach said, "You had a dream about this place?"

"Yeah, and there was a voice saying something about monsters patrolling the land."

"Monsters…?" Luigi said, suddenly scared.

"I don't see any," Toad said, looking out at the horizon.

"Well maybe they're not in this area necessarily," Peach said.

"Hey, what's that?" Luigi said suddenly, pointing at a small figure close by.

Upon further inspection, the figure Luigi was pointing at was a fairy of some sort. It looked male, but it also looked weakened. He looked up at Peach and friends.

"Are you guys from the Outside World?" the fairy asked weakly.

"Outside World?" Peach pondered, "I'm terribly sorry, but what do you mean by that?"

"Well, let's put this way: you guys are not from this land, right?"

"I guess we're not," Peach replied.

"Really? That's good; we might actually have some hope left," the fairy said.

"Who's 'we'?" Toad asked.

"The inhabitants of the Subcon World of course. I cannot recall the last time people from the Outside World entered into our land, but you guys look like nice people, so I'm trusting you.

"See, the thing is, we used to live at peace here, until one day, the evil king of mischief, Wart, put a curse on the land and imprisoned us Subconians. Now there are many types of Subconians, like take me for example. I am a Subconian Fairy. We inhabited the skies and watched over the land. There are also the folk of the Shy Tribe."

"The Shy Tribe?" Peach asked, "What is that?"

"Well, the Sky Tribe is a group of small people like us Fairies, but they wear cloaks and giant blank masks, completely covering themselves. Because of this, we called them 'shy'. There are Shy Guys, who are just regular troops for Wart, then there are Snifits, who shoot nightmare bullets. And don't forget the Beezos. These members of the Shy Tribe terrorize the inhabitants from the skies. Yes, they fly."

"Wow, that's terrible," Peach said, "Are there other inhabitants besides Fairies and people of the Shy Tribe."

"Yes, there are a lot. Like Flurries, Sparks, Pidgits, Pansers… oh and don't forget Phantos; they're terrible! Look I can't sit around giving a tour. If you guys want to know the creatures, I'll give you this guide book about the inhabitants of the Subcon World."

The fairy gave Toad a small guidebook of all the creatures that lived in Subcon.

"Wow, thanks a lot! This book will be of good use for us," Toad said.

"Very well. Please remember; Wart is a very mischievous and will go far to reach his goal. He would happily get rid of you guys if you get in his way. Please defeat him!" The fairy pleaded.

"Don't worry," Mario said bravely, "We'll deal with him."

"Yeah," Luigi said. "And besides, he's a frog. What bad could happen?"

"Oh don't underestimate Wart, Green One," the fairy said in worriment, "He's as huge as that one king, but I forgot his name – wait… oh yeah, it was Bowser Koopa."

"Bowser!" Toad exclaimed, "Oh great! That's one huge frog alright."

"Oh, and speaking of which, when I escaped from Wart's fortress, I struggled gathering clues that now make me conclude that Bowser Koopa is the real guy behind this," the fairy explained.

"Really?" Peach asked in shock, "How?"

"Well, I figured that the Koopa Empire really took over Subcon, but hired Wart as sort of a 'governor' for Bowser so that Bowser doesn't have to be in two places at once."

Peach and the others thought about what the fairy said carefully. At this point, they couldn't be surprised that this was the work of the Koopas.

"Don't worry about a thing!" Mario said with determination, "We'll save this world from the curse of Wart and Bowser."

"I really hope so. Good luck to you guys! Stay unharmed!" the fairy waved good-bye to the brothers, princess, and servant.

They head off north of where they entered in Subcon after finding a map in the guidebook the fairy gave Toad. Toad held the book with care.

The group determined that in order to restore peace to Subcon, they had to travel to Wart's Palace. That required them to go through some grassland, desert, hills, and even a winter-wonderland. But in the end, the final destination is the sky, where Wart's palace is.

It wasn't long until Peach and the others saw some members of the 'Shy Tribe'. Toad used the book to look up their appearance and found that they were Red Shy Guys. They wore white masks that showed no emotion and wore red cloaks. They were rather small though, about the size of a Goomba.

There were five Red Shy Guys approaching the heroes. Mario thought fast by taking a Shy Guy and tossed it on the other Shy Guys. They all collided with each other and became knocked out.

"Super job, Mario!" Peach said joyfully.

Mario blushed a little, but suddenly, they saw a midget crow on what seemed to be a flying carpet. The crow looked down at the heroes with mischief in its eyes.

"And who might you guys be?" the crow demanded to heroes.

Toad looked it up and found it was a Pidgit.

"We are from the Mushroom Kingdom. You must be Pidgit," Toad said.

"What! How do you know my name? I'll swoop on you maggots!"

And swoop it did. It almost hit Luigi, but he and the others evaded.

Mario found the opportunity to attack when it swooped again. He got on Pidgit's flying carpet, picked up Pidgit, and tossed him. He flew into a deep pit.

"Curses!" Pidgit exclaimed as he fell.

"Alright," said Mario, "I don't think we have much time. Let's go."

Peach, Luigi, and Toad jumped on the carpet with Mario and they all flew peacefully to another part of the grasslands. Overtime, the carpet poofed in thin air, so they continued on by foot.

The heroes covered a lot of land, while taking out foes like the living electrical orbs known as Sparks to the masked Beezos that looked like Shy Guys and flew.

After about half an hour of travel, the heroes stumbled upon an odd being. She had pink skin, the body of a duck, spines on her back, and a stubby tail. She also had stubby feet and a red bowtie on her head. Toad found out that she was a Birdanian.

The heroes looked at a black door at the edge of the nearby cliff, but suddenly, the pink Birdanian blocked the door. This door would have allowed them to move on into in deeper regions of the prairies.

"Hold it right there," she said.

"Who are you?" Peach said.

"Quite a good question! I am Birdo. And this is as far as you go!"

Abruptly, Birdo started to throw eggs. But these weren't ordinary eggs. They were rock solid and the size of bowling balls. The heroes dodged with much effort for that Birdo was throwing them fast and with accuracy. Almost every time, the heroes would almost be hit.

"Darn it! What do we do?" Toad panicked.

Peach had a sudden idea. She stepped back a little so she was able to catch an egg. Then she ran up and threw it back at Birdo.

"Have a taste of your own medicine!"

"No!!"

Birdo was hit, but she was quickly back up. She continued to throw giant solid eggs at the heroes. Mario picked up Peach's idea quickly and started to the same thing. It was a success. Birdo was hit again.

"I won't give up that easily!"

Birdo seemed to be on the offensive again while the heroes dodged her attacks. Luigi and Toad tried what Peach and Mario did. Both were successful as well. But at this point, heroes were being hit by the eggs as well and they weakened with Birdo. Mario threw back one more egg and Birdo spun over. She indicated defeat.

"I'll remember this!"

She disappeared in a poof.

"Wow… that was one odd experience," Peach said blankly.

"Do you suppose she worked for Wart?" Toad asked.

"Probably."

In no time, the heroes were off into the black door Birdo blocked.

The door led the heroes into a cavern. The odd thing about the cavern was that it seemed to be made out of toy building blocks!

"Whoa! Where are we?" Luigi wondered.

Not so long after that, the heroes saw what seemed to be like a giant mouse who wore shades. He looked like he had a bad attitude.

The mouse named Mouser seemed to be blocking yet another black door. He started throwing bombs at the heroes.

"Here… have some bombs!"

With in moments, small explosions struck out almost everywhere. The bombs that Mouser had were small and handy, yet they packed a powerful punch. He chucked them quite often, making difficult for the heroes to even approach him. The heroes had no other choice but to hide in the slightly trenched areas in the cavern.

"What do we do now!" Luigi panicked.

Suddenly, a bomb ended up right in front of Luigi. He started wide-eyed at it. He couldn't react, so Mario reacted quickly and threw the bomb back as self-defense. Mouser noticed the bomb coming his way and dodged it.

"Whoa! You guys almost had me there. But not for long!"

Mouser continued attacking. Peach had an idea after seeing what Mario did unconsciously.

"Hey! I have an idea! I think we should do what Mario did. If a bomb lands here, take it quick and try to throw it at Mouser."

"That's a great idea, Princess!" Toad said.

Not soon after, a bomb ended up on Toad's head. He took it and chucked it back, but to his despair found out that he missed.

"You won't get me that easily!" Mouser said proudly.

Another bomb landed by the heroes. This time Peach grabbed it. She acted unusually quickly with her counterattack. She looked at Mouser right in the eye, and threw the bomb rather hard for a princess. The bomb darted right to Mouser's head! He flew and crash-landed. His face was roasted.

"No way!" Mouser moaned. He quickly disappeared in a poof like Birdo.

Mario, Luigi, and Toad looked at Peach with awe at how she counterattacked so perfectly.

"Whoa! Where did you learn to do that!?" Mario said.

"Wow Princess! That was amazing!" Toad said.

"You attacked as if you were an experienced warrior or something!" Luigi stated with awe.

"Aw shucks guys!" Peach giggled. "All I did was aim and fire, if you know what I mean."

Now with Mouser out of the way, the heroes proceeded to the inner depths of the Subconian grasslands.

Meanwhile in a large spectacular palace in the sky, a Pidgit came to report to the giant frog, Wart. He was sitting on his magnificent golden throne with Shy Guys standing here-and-there.

"What do you wish to report to the great King Wart?" Wart said in a tone of might.

"I have some bad news," the Pidgit said.

"Really…? Tell me."

"We have reports of a Pidgit being attack, Birdo couldn't defend her post, and it seems that Mouser has been knocked out cold from an explosion with his own bombs."

Wart didn't look so happy when he heard this.

"What! How can this be? Surely, Birdo and Mouser couldn't have failed me."

"Well, Birdo is fine now. She's coming here to explain who was responsible."

Not so long after, Birdo came into the throne room and knelled on the floor, bowing to Wart.

"Your majesty," Birdo started, "It seems that our domain is being bombarded by unknown intruders."

"Intruders?" Wart said. "Explain to me these intruders."

"Two of them wore plumber attire, one was a rather small fellow in a blue vest, and the last was a lady in a pink dress. She looked like a princess."

"Hmm… What were these people attempting to do?"

"They were trying to access the gate I was guarding. I don't know their purpose or where they're from."

Wart thought carefully.

"Hmm… I am pretty sure King Bowser will not appreciate a bunch of runts like them trying to breach our domain. Although I have heard about the last one you described, the lady. The way you describe her, it makes me think that was the princess Bowser once held captive, Princess Peach Toadstool."

"If that is true, then those people are from the Outside World like King Bowser."

"Precisely, Birdo. Say… I have a new assignment for you. I just thought of something. I'm sure King Bowser would love it if we got our hands on Princess Peach and shipped her to Bowser as a present. Here's what I want you to do. Separate her from her friends then take her out. Bring her here and I'll give her to King Bowser."

"Yes, your majesty."

And with that, Birdo was off. Wart laughed mischievously; if he successfully had Peach, she would be worth a fortune if he gave her to Bowser.

The heroes went through a lot of land once again. They found a way to defeat enemies in a rather unusual way; they would simply toss vegetables at them! They ranged from radishes, beets, squash, and carrots. They also were lucky enough to find heart radishes, which restored their energy in the way that a Super Mushroom would.

They followed the map to proceed to a gate that would lead them to a winter wonderland. But the heroes anticipated that someone was guarding the gate, like what Birdo and Mouser were doing.

The map led them into yet another cavern, which was pretty similar to the previous. Inside they saw a small, rather cute crab. It was walking back and forth, but once the heroes proceeded, the crab suddenly grew an enormous size. The heroes were stunned.

"Wow, that's one huge crab!" Luigi exclaimed.

"That's Clawgrip," Toad said, reading from the book, "It says here that it likes to throw rocks."

"Just how big are they?"

To the heroes' surprise, Clawgrip started to throw rocks the size of small boulders. They were round and solid.

The heroes struggled to dodge the rocks. To their despair, one was heading right to Peach.

"Princess! Look out!"

Peach was struck hard by the rock, right on the chest. She tried to dodge, but it was too late. She flew a short distance and fell on her head, then her body rolled over like a doll. Peach was out of commission…

"Huh…? Where am I…?"

Peach slowly opened her eyes. She noticed that it was rather cold. She woke up in a tent. She was suddenly alert and looked outside the tent to see snow, lots of snow. She gasped.

"_Where in the world could I possible be now?"_

Peach noticed that she was wrapped around in cloth on various parts of her body. And some of the cloth was stained with blood. She gasped again.

"_Oh my goodness! What happened? Is__…__ this my blood__…__?"_

She was so shocked that she almost forgot what happened to her before she was knocked out.

"_Oh! Now I remembered what happened. I was hit by one of Clawgrip's rocks! Ouch__…__ I remembered how much it hurt being hit and flying like a rag doll."_

She remembered clearly that she was hit on the chest. But to her surprise, she felt no pain there whatsoever.

"_Huh? How can this be? I feel no pain at all. My whole body seems fine to me."_

It was then when she suddenly remembered a quote from her childhood.

_You are a rare vampire to possess regeneration__…__ It's the power to recover damaged parts of the body very quickly. People with regeneration are usually unstoppable._

She completely forgot that she had this ability. She was so badly injured during the time Clawgrip attacked, but those injuries were no match for Peach's ability to regenerate. She was very thankful, for that if she didn't have regeneration, she would have definitely died.

By that thought, Peach suddenly remembered her friends. What were they thinking? Did they think she was okay? Where were they?

She heard sobbing outside. She noticed it before, but since she was so deep into her thoughts that she ignored it earlier. She was worried.

"_Who could that be?"_

She crawled outside the tent and looked around. There was a small campsite made of two tents and a campfire. The site was surrounded by forests except for the east side. On the east side was the top of a cliff and beyond that was a beautiful snowy landscape. It was lovely.

Peach found the sobbing was from Luigi, who was sitting on the cliff's edge. She had no clue where Mario and Toad were. She listened carefully to see if Luigi was doing anything besides sobbing. He sniffed.

"Oh… why…? She couldn't make it to see this… Why her…? She was so nice… Why did she have to go?" Luigi mumbled sadly to himself.

Peach wondered what in the world Luigi meant by his words. Could it be that he thought she was dead? That was sure what it sounded like. She started to become sad; she pitied Luigi for thinking such a thing. But then again, who could blame him? After how Peach was hit, anyone would have expected an ordinary person (or even an ordinary vampire for that matter) to die. She was definitely something else. But then again, regeneration was a rarity among vampires. But how rare? She would probably never know.

Luigi stopped sobbing and turned around. He started shocked at Peach.

"P- P- Princess Peach! Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me Luigi. Where's Mario and Toad?"

Luigi started to shake his head in disbelief.

"No… this can't be… you must be a gh- gh- ghost or something!"

Peach pitied him some more.

"Oh Luigi. Don't talk like that. You're making yourself sad. I'm fine. Really."

"Bu- but how!?"

Finally believing that it was really Peach, Luigi jumped up and hugged her, crying on her shoulder.

"Oh Princess Peach! You're really okay! We're so sorry. We thought that you were–"

"–Dead?" Peach interrupted, "Oh Luigi. Please, don't think that. See… I'm alive and well. Don't cry. It's okay."

Peach sympathized with Luigi. A tear was rolling down her cheek. She realized how much compassion Luigi had. She smiled lightly.

"Listen Luigi. I have some questions for you. First of all, how long has it been since I was hit by Clawgrip's attack? What happened to Clawgrip? Where are we? And finally, where are Mario and Toad?"

"Well Princess, it's been an hour since that time. We beat Clawgrip with a lot of effort. He was pretty tough. According to Mario, we are in the cold tundra region of Subcon. It snowed not so long ago, so it sorta looks like a winter wonderland. We set up these tents and that campfire from my emergency camp kit. I brought it just in case. The others are looking for food. We sorta decided to rest here."

"Really? Wow, you guys must have been sad thinking that I… well… you know."

"Yeah. I mean boy! You should have seen Mario when you flew like that. He was angry and Clawgrip didn't really stand a chance against Mario's counterattacks. We were all crying. You were bruised all over. But you look fine now."

"Yeah. I feel really fine actually."

"Really? That's impossible!"

"I'm not joking. Really. I feel fine, Luigi."

Peach opened the cloth wrapped around her head and arms. There were no bruises whatsoever! Luigi was shocked.

"But- but- but… how can that be possible!? Do you know how injured you looked? This- this is amazing!"

"Yeah, I know. I can't really explain this myself. Actually, to tell you the truth, I thought I was dead myself. We should all thank the Stars that I am in perfect condition."

Soon afterward, Luigi spotted Mario and Toad carrying various items; from berries to nuts to mushrooms. Mario and Toad looked as sad as Luigi was before. They didn't notice Peach quite yet.

"Luigi, get a pot. We're going to have to make-a stew with this stuff," Mario called out.

Peach turned around to see Mario and Luigi. She was happy to see them all right.

"Mario! Toad! Boy, am I glad to see you guys!"

Mario and Toad stared at Peach, shocked.

"P- P- Princess? Is that you?" Mario exclaimed.

"Princess! You're okay!" Toad jumped.

Mario and Toad ran up to Peach. She hugged the both of them at once.

"I know what you guys were thinking. You thought I… well… didn't make it."

Toad and Mario felt guilt when Peach said that. They would have never thought the Princess died unless they were sure.

"We're sorry, Princess," Mario and Toad said.

"Aww… don't feel bad. It's okay."

"But- but- how did you survive that?" Mario wondered.

"Well… let's just say I was lucky. I don't think the chances for survival were much, right? Don't worry; I'm fine. Trust me."

"Are you really, Princess?" Toad asked.

"Yep. I feel no pain whatsoever. And all my bruises are healed. Although, I will be very honest with you; I'm pretty hungry."

"Well, me and Toad just came back with some stuff. We were going to get-a stew ready. Nice that you can joy."

"I know," Peach smiled. "I'm so glad we are all fine now."

And with that, the heroes were happy once again. After having stew, the group packed up the emergency camp and headed out into the tundra valleys, just outside the wintry forests.

While in the icy valleys, the heroes encountered new enemies, including a bunch of pesky foes called Flurries. They were the size of Shy Guys, but Flurries were practically living snow monsters. Peach figured that they lacked traction, so it was rather easy to tap them in ditches since they chased the heroes on sight.

Another common foe the heroes fought was the Panser. Pansers were living flowers that shot out fireballs into the sky. Depending on their color, some shot at random directions and other actually chased the heroes, shooting fireballs at them! But fortunately, the heroes weren't at harm's way, for now.

Additionally, the heroes sometimes had to evade Autobombs, cannons on wheels. They were operated by Shy Guys, which chased the heroes on slippery terrain. For now, the best way to avoid them was to hide behind thick icicles.

Later, the crew was getting tired of the long travel in the bitter cold, so they set up Luigi's emergency camp by the base of steep, but not-so-high terrain. Mario, Luigi, and Toad were reading the map to check where their next destination was. Peach was relaxed and looking around the camp. For a second, she noticed something weird; there was ringing. It sounded like jingle bells. She was curious about the sound.

"Hey guys, do you hear that?" Peach asked the others.

Mario, Luigi and Toad were silent listening for anything suspicious. They noticed nothing.

"Princess, we don't hear anything," Luigi said.

"Are you sure you heard something, Princess?" Mario asked.

There was a pause. Peach sighed.

"Oh, I guess that was just me. Never mind," Peach said.

The others continued with their planning. Peach kept her ears open to any sounds. She heard the ringing again. She wondered why the others couldn't hear it. Her curiosity increased.

After a few moments, Peach decided to search for the source of the ringing. She followed her instincts and didn't tell the others she was going somewhere.

There was something she realized about the sound; whatever the source was, it was moving whenever Peach moved. Her curiosity led her into a nice warm cave. Inside the cave was a very familiar person. Peach gasped to see Birdo again. She was holding what seemed to be jingle bells.

"Hello… Princess Peach Toadstool."

Peach was surprised Birdo knew who she was.

"But how can this be? How do you know my name?"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You know better than to bombard our world. I am quite amazed you were able to get this far, you sneaky little vampire."

Peach was shocked. How did Birdo out of all people know Peach's true identity? They've only met once before, and yet Birdo somehow knew. Feeling that it was useless to lie at this point, Peach replaced her innocent face with a serious one.

"How did you know…? How did you know I was one of them?"

"Oh, it's quite simple!" Birdo said excitedly, "See, I observed you the very first time we met. You looked peculiar. I noticed you dodged my attacks very well, more then any of your friends combined. In fact, here and there, you looked like you on purposely made yourself look like you were struggling to evade my eggs. I'm pretty surprised you pulled that off.

"So I became suspicious of you. I definitely knew off the bat that you were no ordinary person. You see these bells I have; only a vampire can clearly hear them."

Peach was amazed that Birdo was so sneaky enough to figure out Peach's race. But she was doubting about the bells. She questioned her.

"Really? Only a vampire can hear those?" Peach laughed. "You're bluffing. There is no way I could be the only person to hear those."

"Don't believe me? I'll be honest with you Princess, not even _I_ can hear these bells. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that your friends didn't hear them either. See, these bells are an ancient artifact of the past. They were designed to be heard by only the ears of a vampire."

Peach was surprised by this. How can such a thing be possible? In the end, Peach smirked evilly and laughed.

"Very impressive Birdo. Bravo! You're quite the sneaky one. Why do you care if I'm a vampire? You should have not messed with me and my friends. Oh, and while I'm here, you might as well tell me where I could find some humans; I am quite thirsty."

"Oh my! You are quite a hungry beast," Birdo laughed. "Why not just feast on your friends; you'll find no humans in Subcon!"

"Oh quite a lovely suggestion Birdo. Except they're my friends. Friends don't hurt friends, as they say. Oh well. So tell me: why does it seem so significant to you that I am a vampire?"

"Quite simples, I'm here to take you away, Princess of the Vampires!"

Peach laughed vilely when she heard 'Princess of the Vampires'.

"Wow Birdo. Not even I would have thought of that! I like that title." Peach laughed. "Why do you wish to take me away? I presume you work for King Wart, right?"

"You know me quite well already, Princess. Yes, I work for him. He thought it would be a good idea to send you to King Bowser as a gift, since after all, Subcon is technically under the rule of Koopas. But because Subcon lies in a different realm all together, I guess the Koopas found it convenient that King Wart ruled for Bowser. Wart gave me orders to take you to him."

"You're going to have to knock me out first!"

"That, I will do. That's why I separated you from your friends, so I won't have to bother with those idiots. You're probably the only interesting person to fight anyway, since you're a vampire after all. Oh, and don't worry; I don't think either Bowser or Wart know you are one."

Peach was a little angry. She was at a fighter's stance, ready to fight Birdo.

Birdo started an offense by throwing an egg. But this time, it exploded when it touched the ground. Peach didn't expect an explosive egg at all. She was almost damaged by the explosion, but jumped back to avoid it. Peach smirked again.

"Explosive eggs?" – she chuckled – "Not bad, Birdo. Not bad. You almost had me back there."

"It's okay Princess. I saved these eggs just for you. I suppose your friends wouldn't have survived them anyway."

Birdo dashed quickly to chuck another egg, but she missed when she noticed that Peach suddenly disappeared. Birdo remained stationary and looked in all directions.

Peach suddenly appeared from behind Birdo and tried to use a claw attack. Birdo sensed her and dodged the attack. Realizing that she missed, Peach tried to sweep-kick Birdo. She had never fought a foe with so much effort before. Birdo was quite impressed that a princess like Peach could fight so well. Birdo surprise-attacked Peach with an egg that blew up right in front of her. She flew back, damaged from the blow.

"Tired yet, Princess?" Birdo asked.

Peach got back up and sneered.

"Darn you Birdo. You're quite the fighter! Look, you can't possibly think of killing me."

"But Princess. Have you forgotten? I'm not here to kill you. I think your killing instincts have blinded you for a moment. Once I take you out, you'll be a gift for the Koopas in no time!"

Peach was more aggravated. She quickly disappeared in a flash, ended up on Birdo's left side, and gave her a slash. Birdo jumped back to minimize the impact. On Birdo's arm were three scars. They looked like they were made by a ferocious predator. This only made her laugh in amusement.

"Oh wow! You are truly a vampire! This reminds me of the times when Birdanians and Vampires crossed paths. But that was long before I was born."

"Really? How did we end up in the Subcon World?"

"Well, I couldn't really say for sure. To make a long story short, you guys came in the Gateway that separates Subcon from the Outer World. Then you basically enslaved the Subconians and made them do your bidding. The most loyal Subconians to the Vampires were us, the Birdanians. We served you until a war between Koopas and Vampires long ago ended the vampiric rule of Subcon. The Koopas came in, kick the vampires out, then left. And now, after many uncountable generations, the Koopas have taken over Subcon. We are at their mercy."

Peach listened to Birdo carefully. Had vampires really come to Subcon before? Peach was very interested in this.

"No wonder you act all happy since you found out I was a vampire! Why do you follow the commands of a frog?"

"Unfortunately Princess, I have no other choice. I have realized the powers that the Koopas have. Disobeying Wart is like disobeying Bowser. And from what I heard, Bowser is really powerful. I honestly don't know much about him, but heck, why get in trouble? I get benefits for my work; my own little place, food, water, luxury, the works."

"But why not work for me?"

There was a pause. Birdo didn't expect Peach to say that.

"Wow, this is a sudden thought! You want me to work for you? Interesting… A moment ago, you looked like you were going to brutally kill me. What makes you think that I'll work for you?"

"I was listening to your explanation about the history between Vampires and Birdanians. The way you said how Birdanians served us, it was like you guys stood by our side to the bitter end. And on top of it, you looked so happy when you figured out that I was a vampire. Look, I'm sorry. I would have never known much about you and the encountering of our races, since I have no other choice but to live like a human for most of my life. I can give you much more than Bowser or Wart could ever! You have a lot of ability; I would love someone like you to work for me."

"Hmmm… That does sound quite tempting," Birdo admitted, "I would actually love to serve a great vampire such as you. But I'm afraid I have no other choice but to knock you out."

And with that, Birdo unleashed another surprise attack of Peach. She flew again but got back up rather quickly, but weakly.

"Why? Why follow the orders of that Wart? Who is he to you?"

Birdo stopped for a second. She hesitated, knowing herself that Wart is just really a big pest to Subcon.

"What do you think? He is my king. I have no other choice but to serve him, regardless if you will give me better benefits."

"Princess! Princess! Where are you?" voices called out from afar.

Peach and Birdo stopped after hearing voices calling out Peach. Soon after, Mario, Luigi and Toad entered the cave, where they saw Peach and Birdo. They didn't notice the claw marks Peach made on Birdo, but they did notice that Peach was damaged from explosions.

"Princess!" Mario yelled as he ran up to Peach, blocking her from Birdo. "Are you alright, Princess?"

"Birdo's back!?" Luigi exclaimed.

"How could you lure the Princess into your trap like that?" Toad said in shock.

There was a short pause. Birdo laughed lightly.

"Think whatever you want. I'll finish you off later. See you soon."

And with that, Birdo disappeared. Mario, Luigi and Toad tried to comfort Peach.

"Princess, are you all right?" Toad asked, "She didn't hurt you, did she?"

"It's okay," Peach said slowly. "I'm fine."

The heroes brought Peach safely back to the camp, fed her, and mended her wounds. She was thankful for their support.

After a while, Mario, Luigi, and Toad decided that Peach should stay at the camp while the others explored ahead and cleared any obstacles before continuing to the desert regions of Subcon. Luigi insisted on staying at the camp to protect Peach just in case anyone attacked. They felt this was a good idea.

Peach didn't realize until very recently, but her body had been rather weakened more than she thought. She suspected it was a physical aftershock after getting knocked out by Clawgrip and after fighting Birdo. She felt that it was rather smart that she rested now with Luigi keeping a lookout while Mario and Toad ventured.

Luigi did ask about what Birdo exactly did. Peach didn't want to lie to him, but she also didn't want to reveal everything, so she said how Birdo lured her with an unusual sound, how Birdo used explosive eggs saved just for her. Luigi tried to cheer her up since she looked gloomy.

After what seemed to be half an hour, Mario and Toad returned, tired and sweating, regardless of the fact that they were in subzero temperatures!

"Hey Bro! Toad! Why are you guys sweating?" Luigi asked, who was outside the tent where Peach was napping.

"Luigi, you won't believe what we saw. It was a fire monster or something," Mario said tiredly.

"F- F- Fire monster…?" Luigi hesitated, "There is a fire monster around here in a place like this!?"

"Don't worry Luigi," Toad said, "We beat it. His name was Fry Guy. He was apparently brought to life by that King Wart character and Fry Guy literally tried to burn us to death! He was blocking the way to the deserts, where we have to be next."

"How did you guys beat him?" Luigi asked.

"Unfortunately there was no water," Mario said, "So we had to suppress the fire he was made of by throwing large blocks at him. Eventually, he vanished in thin air, defeated. It was quite a pain in the bucket."

"Wow," Luigi sighed, "It must've been tough. You guys should rest for a moment."

After resting for a little while, the heroes gathered up their stuff and headed out to the desert. They told Peach everything about Fry Guy and how things were heating up for Mario and Toad.

And speaking of heat, when they opened the door Fry Guy blocked, a terrible wave of heat struck the heroes. Outside they saw a vast sandy wasteland. Like the typical desert, there were a few cacti and a few animals. The heat was pounding on the heroes, but fortunately, Toad had some water bottles, which practically froze from the tundra they were in before.

"How could it get so hot after where we were traveling?" Luigi wondered.

"Well," said Peach, "This is Subcon. Anything is possible at this rate."

The heroes followed the map through the desert. Their goal was to reach a mountain towards the end of the region to enter platforms that would lead them to Wart's Palace. They faced some new enemies like Cobrats, red snakes that pop out of vases they occasionally found throughout the land, Porcupos, porcupines with similar behavior to the Spinys of the Koopa Empire, and Albatoss, large orange eagles that drop Bob-ombs on the heroes. Bob-ombs were living bombs from the Koopa Empire that were given to Wart so he could terrorize his enemies.

There were also Pokeys, Pansers, and Beezos who tried to attack the heroes. Fortunately, they easily found heart radishes by oasis and under ground caverns.

After what seemed to be like hours, the heroes made it to the entrance of an enormous cavern. Some parts of the cavern had narrow passageways. One of the passages the heroes went through was obstructed by a locked door. There was a key hole, so this made the heroes wonder.

"Hmm… where could the key possibly be?" Mario pondered.

The heroes decided that Mario and Toad would backtrack, hoping to find the key, while Peach and Luigi stay put by the door, since it wasn't likely that anyone would attack there.

Several minutes later, Mario and Toad discovered a room inside the passages that they never noticed before. Inside, sitting on a green platform was a gold key. Hanging on the wall was a mysterious golden mask that smiled maniacally.

"This must be it," Toad said, pointing at the key.

Mario went up and took it, but when he did, the mask on the wall suddenly shook. He and Toad looked cautiously at it. It started to detach itself from the wall and levitated towards them!

"Aieee! What is that!?" Toad exclaimed.

"There's no time to find out!" Mario jumped.

Mario and Toad ran out the room and back to where Luigi and Peach were. While they did, Toad looked back and noticed that the mask was chasing them! Since Mario was holding the key, Toad was able to look up the mysterious mask and found out it was a Phantos. He remembered the fairy they met and how he mentioned how terrible the Phantos were.

Meanwhile, Luigi and Peach waited patiently by the lock. They weren't stressed or anything since being in a cavern kept them nice and cool from the terrible desert heat.

But suddenly, they saw Mario and Toad run as if they saw a ghost. And quite frankly, anyone would have called Phantos a ghost. It was right behind Mario and Toad. Peach and Luigi were freaking out.

"What is that!?" Luigi fretted.

"No time!" Mario yelled. "Get the key in!"

Once the heroes got the key in, the door opened and Phantos suddenly dropped to the floor. It was just a lifeless mask again.

Not wanting to take any chances, the heroes quickly closed the door behind Phantos and moved on.

Now the heroes were inside a large lair with little light. They presumed that the entrance into the sky region around Wart's Palace was nearby.

But what they didn't expect was a giant beast, hiding in the shadows! It resembled a Cobrat, but it was much larger and had three heads!

Luckily since Peach could see so well in the dark, she quickly noticed it.

"Guys! Get back!"

The heroes were barely hit by a whiff of fire breath. Now everyone noticed the three-headed snake. The snake, called Tryclyde, hissed and let out some more fire from its mouths. The heroes struggled. Mario's shoe was roasted. Luigi got his right hand burned. Toad and Peach were lucky enough to dodge the attack.

Quickly Mario found some blocks, which he threw at Tryclyde. For a second, it seemed that this battle was going to be easy, but quickly, one of Tryclyde's heads headbutted Mario and he was knocked out.

"Mario!" Luigi yelled.

But he was soon struck by Tryclyde's tail, which unexpectedly whipped quickly at Luigi. He was knocked out as well.

Now it was just Toad and Peach. Toad tried to, regardless of how afraid he was, stand bravely in front of Peach. She was worried now; she didn't know what to do.

Tryclyde used his fire breath attack again. This time, Toad was damaged from the burns. He couldn't stand up anymore. In the end, became knocked out as well. Before he passed out, he mumbled,

"Princess… please… run… away… Get… out… of… here…"

Now Peach was in deep trouble. It was just her and Tryclyde, which didn't looked tired whatsoever. Peach's survival instincts told her to attack Tryclyde, as a vampire would probably do.

She jumped and tried to claw attack one of Tryclyde's heads, but another head rammed her. She fell to the ground hard, feeling pain from the impact. She tried to get back up, but Tryclyde hit her with its tail. She flew back, still wounded.

Peach hissed at Tryclyde, something she normally wouldn't do. She quickly got back up on her feet, disappeared, then reappeared and kicked one of its heads. It was perhaps the first time it felt a strong blow like that.

But quickly, one of its heads rammed her again. She fell harder this time. At this point, Peach couldn't move. Was this the end?

"Ow… what happened?"

Peach woke up on a mountainous cliff region. There was sky top to bottom and there were also platforms floating in random places. A small cave that was perhaps the exit outside Triclyde's lair was located behind her. Surrounding her was her friends. They all seemed quite fine. She wondered how that happened.

"Oh Princess! You're awake!" Luigi cheered.

"Princess Peach!" Mario jumped, "Are you alright?"

"Oww… yeah…" – she coughed – "I guess I'm fine. Um… what happened to Triclyde?"

"You don't have to worry about that nasty beast anymore, Princess" Toad ensured, "Mario and Luigi took care of it."

The brothers explained how they got back up and noticed Peach on the floor. One of the heads looked like it was going to open its mouth and try to eat her! The brothers reacted quickly by distracting it and using more discovered Mushroom Blocks to knock it out. Then they all took her outside the exit of the cavern into the cliff where they were now. They all used Heart Radishes to mend their wounds.

Suddenly, Peach's eyes closed gently and she fainted. The heroes surrounded her, afraid of her condition. They didn't know what happened. They suspected that Tryclyde wounded Peach very much, but the odd thing was that her wounds suggested that she might have possibly tried attacking the giant three-headed snake. They didn't think that was likely though.

Forgetting about the whole ordeal and never looking back, the heroes treated Peach. Mario went out and scouted the sky by jumping on platforms. After a short while, Mario came back and said he cleared the way.

The friends jumped on platforms floating in the sky going towards the Palace. Mario was holding Peach carefully while Luigi and Toad fought whatever enemies got in their way.

After going through a bunch of Shy Guys, Beezos, Bob-ombs, and cannons, the heroes were actually facing the giant palace of Wart. Now they had to do was get in and beat Wart. Would it be easy?

The Palace was beautiful with glossy golden brick and magnificent gates, which opened. Peach woke up just in time to see the marvelous structure.

"Guy… where are we?" Peach asked quietly, rubbing her eyes.

"I believe we are at Wart's Fortress," Toad said. "It's about time."

"Now all we have to do is take out Wart," Mario said.

The heroes took a deep breath and entered the palace. Inside the magnificent hallways, the heroes just followed their instincts, since they didn't know where they were going.

Meanwhile, Birdo reported back to Wart.

"Your majesty, I am sorry. I was not able to bring Princess Peach here," Birdo said.

"That's not good," Wart said, "But I suppose that isn't the worst thing. Not so long ago, I felt the odd sensation that Fry Guy was severely attacked. He is dead. And some time later, Tryclyde's life energy suddenly dropped, as if something fierce tried to kill it. This is not good Birdo. Something's out there trying to defy us."

"Perhaps it's those four intruders I mentioned earlier."

"Really? Could those four really have caused this much damage? I certainly underestimated them. If they truly defeated a beast like Tryclyde, then they are probably not so far from here."

"Shall I be of assistance?"

"Yes. I will give you one more chance. Defeat all four of the intruders and imprison them. I will decide what to do with three men. The Princess will be sent to Bowser, definitely. You may be off now."

"Thank you sir."

"Oh, and by the way… What happened to your arm?" Wart questioned.

There was cloth wrapped around the part of Birdo's arm where Peach clawed her. Birdo hid this part so no body would be suspicious of what happened between her and Peach.

"Oh, it's nothing," Birdo replied.

"Very well. You may leave."

"You're majesty!"

Meanwhile in the Koopa Empire, Bowser celebrated his invasion of Subcon. At the moment, he was sitting on his throne, waiting for any sort of news.

Just now, a Koopa came into the throne room.

"What is it?" Bowser said.

"I have something of interest that I think you should listen to."

"Go on then."

"Right, see, King Wart reported that his minions detected Princess Peach in Subcon."

"Really!?" Bowser said, surprised by this information. He laughed. "The timid Princess Peach in Subcon? How did she know about its existence? I wonder…"

"Well, sir, um, King Wart said that we would gladly give Peach to us if they catch her."

"Really? That sounds good! I will be waiting! Once the Princess is in my possession, the Mushroom Kingdom will be mine as well!"

But suddenly, Bowser remembered the Mario Brothers and how they defeated him.

"Wait a second! Hey, did Wart say anything about Mario or his green brother being there?"

"Well sir, I did remember King Wart say something about two guys clad in plumber attire."

"Oh great! That must be them! Just perfect! Are they there to ruin my plans once again! Oh whatever! From what I heard, Wart had this pet snake roaming around he called Tryclyde. That must've eaten those pesky plumbers by now!"

With that thought, Bowser relaxed.

"But what about the Princess?" the Koopa asked.

"Oh, her! Well, let's see… I doubt a pet snake would eat a princess, so I guess she's fine. So maybe they'll get their hands on Peach soon and send her here."

With that, Bowser laughed again.

Meanwhile, the heroes went through many rooms fighting various enemies. They ranged from Snifits to Pansers. They also had to get keys, which were guarded by Phantos. Phantos chased them, whenever they had a key.

Later, the heroes encountered a door that looked different from the others. This door was larger and golden, instead of brown. They entered and inside the intimidating room was none other than Birdo!

"You again!" Mario exclaimed.

"That's right Mario," Birdo said in her usual tone, "You've come a far way!"

Birdo threw an egg that exploded in front of the heroes. They all flew back. Mario quickly got up and tried to throw the nearest block at Birdo. She didn't avoid it in time and fell back.

The rest of the heroes got up and looked at Birdo cautiously.

Quickly, she got up again and did something they never saw her do before; she spat out fireballs from her mouth!

"Whoa! Were did you learn to do that!" Toad cried out.

"It's a secret ability no one knew about before. You guys are lucky to see it for the first time!"

Birdo continued to spit out fireballs. Mario noticed a pattern with Birdo's attack; almost every other time she spat a fireball, she would do so towards Peach. But why? Mario remembered earlier how Birdo somehow lured Peach into a cave without the heroes knowing and started to attack the princess. Was it that Birdo had something against Peach? Or perhaps she wanted to take her out first? Whatever the case was, Mario didn't like it at all.

He ran in front of Peach before Birdo was going to attack her again and said defensively,

"Hey! Pick on somebody your own size!"

"Oh my! Aren't you quite the hero today," Birdo laughed, "I couldn't really say you are my size since you're smaller than the Princess or me. Oh well. I'll finish you off first then."

Birdo quickly threw an egg, but to her surprise, Mario caught it effortlessly. There was determination in his eyes. He wanted to take out Birdo as soon as possible.

Birdo tried to blast Mario with a fireball, but he quickly moved over and chucked the egg right on Birdo's face! Mario got himself in a fighter's pose while Birdo was on the ground.

Getting back up, Birdo threw two eggs at once. Mario caught both of them. Now Birdo was getting angry.

"Interesting. I've underestimated you, Mario. I'm ready for you this time!"

Mario threw one of the eggs, but missed. Birdo tried a fireball at Mario, but she missed as well.

Noticing that Birdo was only paying attention to Mario, the others planned a surprise attack while Mario fended off Birdo. They found more large blocks like the ones Mario tried to use before. Waiting for the right moment, each person held a block and hurled them at Birdo. She didn't know what hit her! She rolled on the floor from the impact. Mario didn't anticipate this either.

"Wait, what just happened!?" Mario jumped.

"While you were busy fighting Birdo, we decided to do a surprise attack," Peach said. "I think she's out."

Peach was right. Birdo was knocked out from three heavy blocks hitting her head. They presumed she was alive, but not in the condition to be up at this point.

The heroes continued into the castle. They passed by a room with Subconian Fairies in dungeons. They couldn't save them yet; first, they had to take out Wart.

After bashing through some more enemies, risking their lives over fields of spikes, and almost getting burned, the heroes finally made it to a giant door decorated with magnificent gems and gold. Mario pushed the door and inside was a glorious throne room, and sitting on the throne was King Wart himself!

Wart looked at each of the four carefully. He was disappointed that Princess Peach was not captured by Birdo yet. He noticed the others; none of these people looked like much to him. How did they defeat everyone?

"You must be the four who bombarded my realm. I am Wart. I am surprised you came this far! This will be your end."

The four were ready for their final battle, which would determine the fate of Subcon, and maybe even the fate the Mushroom Kingdom. Wart burped out toxic bubbles, which traveled at amazing speeds! The heroes were struggling again. Whenever they were hit by the bubbles, they would quickly feel weaker. Mario found some vegetables lying around and he took them and threw them into Wart's mouth. The result was amazing; Wart would choke and hold his throat as if he ate something terrible! Mario could only presume that for whatever odd reason, Wart hated vegetables and got damage from eating them.

From that point, the heroes tried their best to toss vegetables into Wart's mouth. That was the only way they could really attack him for now; there were no blocks anywhere in the room. Some attempts were successful, but Wart started to close his mouth right before they could throw in a vegetable.

The fight was getting harder. It was tough for the heroes to dodge Wart's bubbles. It was to the point that Luigi and Toad were too weak to fight. They were on the floor, unable to fight. This worried Peach and Mario, who were also getting weakened.

Peach was lucky enough to dodge Wart's attacks while also successfully giving Wart a taste of vegetables. But Mario on the other hand was starting to weaken quickly. He panted on the floor.

"Mario!" Peach yelled, "No! You can't be down now! Please get up!"

"I'm sorry Princess," Mario wheezed, "You have to run away from here. Don't let Wart get to you!"

There was a pause. Wart laughed.

"I see you are left, Princess Peach Toadstool. You will make a perfect gift for my superior, King Bowser Koopa!"

"We'll see about that," Peach said with some determination.

Wart continued to attack, but Peach realized she was starting to get weak as well. And the worst part was there were no more vegetables in the room! Peach didn't want to let down her friends. She had to find another way.

At that moment, something totally unexpected happened. The door into the throne room fell inward from an explosion. Wart and Peach stopped to look back towards the entrance. When the smoke cleared, they saw the one and only Birdo! In an instant, Birdo threw an explosive egg at Wart! Peach was stunned by this move.

"Birdo! What are you doing!?" Wart demanded after getting back up from the blast.

"Sorry, frog face. I've decided at the last second that I should remove you from the throne of Subcon. You know very well that we Birdanians and Subconian Fairies were the real leaders of the land. But you, the last of the Wartfrogs found the opportunity to kick out the Birdanians and Fairies from power when those ridiculous Koopas started to take over. I was under your allegiance only for my own gain. And now that I have found somebody else I could truly be loyal to, I won't need you anymore! And besides, once you're out, the Koopas are also out from our land!"

"What! How can you betray me! How dare you! And who exactly is this so-called person you are loyal to, huh?"

Birdo giggled and pointed at Peach.

"That person's name is Princess Peach."

The heroes were shocked by this. Why did Birdo suddenly become loyal to Peach? Peach honestly wasn't surprised, since she remembered that Birdo admitted that she would like to work for her. Peach smiled to this news.

"Well, Princess," Birdo giggled, "What would like me to do now?"

Peach was starting to smirk rather mischievously now. She liked the thought of Birdo serving her.

"Well… It would be nice if you finished Wart off!" Peach said enthusiastically.

"Gladly, Princess."

As Peach insisted, Birdo fired fireballs at Wart. Because of his enormous size, Wart wasn't able to avoid them. He wheezed and grunted whenever he got hit.

"Here, let me have you hand for a sec."

Birdo held Peach's right hand. Both hands started to glow a dark purple color. Birdo transported this unknown energy into her last egg and chucked it hard at Wart. Wart flew back and toppled to the ground. Peach did not understand what Birdo just did when she held her hand, but at least that ended the fight.

At last, Wart was defeated. Almost immediately, the curse Wart put on the land faded away. The Shy Tribe was back to living a carefree life. The Subconian Fairies and Birdanians were released from their prisons. Life was getting back to normal for Subcon. The heroes were able to save the land along with the help of the ever persistent and mysterious Birdo.

The Palace was reoccupied by the many Birdanians and Fairies who used to prosper within its walls. Everyone gathered around the heroes and Birdo. Wart was placed behind bars, never to rule Subcon again.

An elder Fairy came up to the heroes.

"O great people of the Outer Realm! How could we ever be thankful for your efforts?" the Fairy said.

"It was quite our pleasure to help the people of this world," Peach said, curtsying. "I think we all must be thankful to Birdo as well, who defeated King Wart."

Everyone cheered for Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach and Birdo. It was a spectacular sight indeed.

"Birdo," the elder Fairy said, "What would you like to do now?"

"I wish to be with the Princess," Birdo said.

"If that is what you wish, then so be it. We will miss you, Birdo. Thank you for helping these fellow people defeat Wart."

"It was no problem at all."

Peach just noticed the condition of her dress. It was a little worn up and also bloodstained. She felt in fear returning to the Mushroom Kingdom in such a condition.

"Oh no! What will everyone think when they see my dress like this?!"

"Not to worry, Princess Toadstool," the elder Fairy said, "We will fix that."

The Fairy used his magic over the heroes and all a sudden, all of their cloths were fixed up, as if they never went on their quest to save Subcon! All stains and tears were gone. And their body wounds also disappeared!

"Gee, thanks!" Toad said. All the others were thankful as well.

"No mention, little one. Now I will transport you to your home realm. You will forever be remembered as heroes!"

The Fairy used his magic again and this time, the heroes and Birdo disappeared in thin air. They reappeared in the Mushroom Kingdom, inside the cave where they entered Subcon in the first place. They forgot entirely that they were having a picnic! And it was starting to get late too.

Mario, Luigi, and Toad were confused about Birdo's loyalty with Peach.

"Hey, Birdo," Mario said, "I was wondering, why did you want to stay with Princess Peach?"

"Well, Mario," Birdo giggled, "That's a long story."

"Oh… okay."

"And besides, I won't actually live in Princess's castle. I'll find a place to live in a nice town nearby."

"I see."

The five made it to the picnic site. Also at the site was a white carriage with the same driver from the morning. He looked like he was waiting for the return of Peach and her friends.

"What happened, Princess?" the driver asked, confused, "I was waiting for you since four o'clock, but you weren't here, so I waited. Now it's six o'clock. I was worried sick!"

"Oh! I'm awfully sorry for keeping you waiting here!" Peach said. "See, what can I say? We went through a lot."

"What happened?"

"It was a long story. Oh, and this is Birdo, a friend we found along the way," Peach said, pointing her open hand at Birdo.

"Nice to meet you," Birdo said simply.

And with that, the heroes return back to Peach's castle. They sure had a long day today. Each person was relieved by the end result. Peach discovered two things about herself in that adventure; how durable she was after the Clawgrip incident and how defensive she was after the Tryclyde incident. She also wondered about the moment when Birdo held her hand and obtained an unknown purple energy, which Birdo used in her last egg attack. Where did that energy come from? What kind of energy was it? This would make her wonder for quite a while, but she couldn't worry now, since now she experienced victory with the Mario brothers. She sighed in relief. Now everyone could live in peace again and the Koopa rule over Subcon was over.


	29. The Black Star War

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

The Mushroom Kingdom (C) Nintendo.

Xeon, Zetroid, Nater Ezta, Rae, Keft Gholt, Heffer Gholt, Julk IV, Gojux Omega, Editifen, Uraki Hingh, and Zetropolis (C) me.

_Caution: This chapter contains restless violence._

The Black Star War

It was a dark December night in the alleys of a high-tech town. Barely any snow fell that month due to the terrible environmental conditions of the town, although it was cold and windy. Out an alleyway snuck out Xeon. As usual, he wore his black coat loaded with all sorts of weapons inside. One of the most bizarre weapons he had was a giant sword with a nice blue-silver finish and a red gem placed at the hilt. The sword's blade had his name inscribed on it in the Zetroidian language. The blade also had creepy jagged edged on them, which allowed the weapon to extend into a sword or curtail into a dagger. This sword was custom made by Xeon himself; all of his other weapons were stolen from others.

On that cold, dark night, Xeon was finally ready to unleash his fury on Zetroid. He had been planning for a few years how to take down the nation. He had wonderful idea on how to murder the dictator, Keft Gholt, which he so longed to do. Xeon still perfectly remembered the day he saw Gholt burn his mother and sister. Such a thought still burned his heart with merciless wrath. He wanted revenge; he always did. Now was the time.

His plan was to start in the town of Editifen and attack whatever he wished to give fear and misery to the Zetroidian people. A town in Zetroid was more like a city, so Editifen would have been considered a large city to a non-Zetroidian. Once he was finished in Editifen, he would continue west, rampaging any town between Editifen and the city of Uraki Hingh. His original destination was the city of Zetropolis, where Keft Gholt worked and lived, but that is too far away from Editifen.

Every major city in Zetroid had a unique transportation system called Teleportation Booths, or 'Teleporters' as the Zetroidian people shortened it to. These Teleporters were only exclusive in the heavy downtown districts of each major city. They looked like futuristic phone booths, which allowed a person to teleport from one downtown to another instantly! Xeon had to access on of these Teleporters to get to Zetropolis faster and Uraki Hingh was the closest city to him at the moment. This was why he chose this path of travel.

The large roadway Xeon was by had less flying cars than usual, but he knew his attention would bring many people around the block.

He started by bringing out his rocket launcher and aiming it at a large group of young looking pedestrians. All people at the explosion died and the explosion also made a crater on the road!

Now sirens sounded off and people were running for their lives. Regardless of this, Xeon saw no innocence in Zetroidians. He got out his machine guns and started to run and shoot as many people as he could.

He stopped when he suddenly saw an army of roughly fifty armed soldiers. They wore futuristic military gear and uniforms and were armed with high-tech machine guns and plasma guns. He had faced such soldiers before, so he wasn't afraid whatsoever.

The leader of the squad was a spiky-hair man with a mechanical left eye. It wasn't new that some Zetroidians would have a few robotic features. This was especially popular to people of the military. The badge on his chest read 'Julk IV'.

"Hold it right there!" Julk commanded in Zetroidian. "You're under arrest for assaulting people with an Intensity-Grade A Weapon!"

But Xeon didn't care. He got out his double-shotgun and fired at the soldiers. They all fired back. Xeon quickly dodged the shower of gunfire.

He jumped onto a short building to reduce their accuracy then took his rocket launcher and fired at the squad. Only a few people escaped the explosion.

Julk looked angry at this point. He took out a light saber and jumped in pursuit of Xeon. Xeon had a surprise up his sleeve. He had a light saber of his own! He took his out and quickly dashed at him on the building and sliced him in half!

Now with out their commander, the squad was quickly weakening. Xeon killed every single person off.

After that, he continued to terrorize the town with rocket launchers, missiles, and bombs. Quickly, buildings and road crumbled from Xeon's wrath, making a path of destruction!

He was at the edge of the town when he saw a bunch of grey martial robots. The robots looked very hominid as if they were slender females. They attacked Xeon with skill and agility. He flew onto a wall, crashing into a flying car.

Xeon killed the driver and drove the car away from the feminine droids. One of droids followed Xeon carefully and was miraculously in the car with him. It wrapped its slender, but hard arms around him, choking him. Xeon swerved and crashed on police cars, which exploded several seconds later.

Xeon made it out on time and was able to avoid the choking droid. He took his laser sniper and attacked the other droids from a safe distance. That was when a Zetroidian-style helicopter arrived at the scene and tried to shoot missiles at Xeon. Then it used rapid fire and shot at Xeon's chest. He yelled with fury. But because he was a mutant, he regenerated.

"You punks will die!!" Xeon yelled hoarsely.

He took out his missile launcher and fired three shots at the helicopter. It blew up, but the pilot got out and tried to attack Xeon with a sword. Xeon used his own sword and killed him instantly. It seemed the restless fighting would never end.

He cruised down a highway in another car he stole. He installed a portable turret on top of the car just in case somebody tried to attack. Xeon was definitely locked and loaded! The turret shot rapid solar lasers, so it didn't require recharging or reloading.

A few elite police cars followed Xeon. He turned on a local highway, which was smaller and harder to maneuver in than a regular Zetroidian highway. The turret shot down most of the police cars, but the few that were most agile remained chasing.

Xeon set his car on auto-drive, looked backward, and blasted his rocket launcher at them. They were all caught in the explosion and died.

Now in relief, Xeon continued driving on local roads to arrive to his destination.

"Ezta!! Come to my office right now!"

The news of Xeon attacking Editifen spread like wildfire. Keft Gholt was told the news about an hour after the attacks and boy was he mad! Gholt called Sergeant Nater Ezta via his intercom system in anger. Gholt felt that Ezta was the best man for his new agenda, to kill Xeon. He wanted him dead as soon as possible.

Ezta came into Gholt's office, apparently looking interrupted from doing something 'fun'.

"Yes, sir."

"Ezta, have you heard the news? That Xeon is back! And he destroyed practically every goddamn elite in Editifen! I'm so pissed off!"

"So I suppose I should go after this guy, right?"

"Well of course!! Unless you want him to destroy the nation!"

"Alright sir. I'll get my army ready."

"Good! Now be off!"

With that, Ezta walked out and assembled his squad. Before he did, his girlfriend encountered him. She was an attractive woman who wore little clothing, like most Zetroidian women. She had long brown hair and green eyes, which always looked suggestive. Her voice was also suggestive.

"Ezta, where have you been," she flirted.

"Sorry Rae. I have military orders. Once I kill my target, I'll spend all of my time with you, babe."

"You better," Rae said, in a rather disappointed yet flirtatious tone, "We were having so much fun."

"I know baby. Don't worry. I'll return."

They kissed and Ezta left, leaving his enthralling girlfriend behind.

"Damn this car!"

Xeon was in the outskirts of a town neighboring Editifen. Unfortunately for him, he stole a car that had a dying battery! The car died on him, so he retrieved his portable turret and walked away from the car. In anger, Xeon aimed his rocket launcher at the car and blew it up! Boy does he have an attitude!

He snuck into the dark alleys of the town, hoping to get better car to steal. Once he got near commuting pedestrians, he snuck in between crowds.

While pretending to be a pedestrian, Xeon noticed a street guard, something he would only expect in the cities. The street guard was bald had black skin. He wore a futuristic black coat and black shades. He was armed with a power-sniper and a laser machine gun.

Xeon decided to have some fun and attack the street guard. The street guard detected him and punched him in the face with his giant fists! That must hurt! Xeon flew into people. There was a crowd surrounding Xeon. Xeon was so angry that he relentlessly slashed everyone at once with his light saber. The guard used his machine gun and tried to fire at Xeon. Xeon dodged the blasts and shot his head with his shotgun.

Attracting attention again, sirens sounded off. Very soon after, Xeon saw another army in front of him. This was lead by none other than Ezta. He looked ambitious today.

"We meet again, Xeon," Ezta started, "You know, you can make this much easier by surrendering so I can spend time with my girlfriend."

"Of course," Xeon grinned.

Ezta's men approached Xeon, ready to lock his arms in handcuffs, but Xeon suddenly took out his Flesh Slicing Chainsaw (FSCS) and gruesomely killed everyone.

Ezta was angry now. He felt absolutely stupid for believing that Xeon would just surrender like that. Perhaps he was just impatient at the moment.

"I'll kill you arsehole!" Ezta yelled at Xeon.

Ezta ran up and stabbed Xeon in the gut with his military class sword. Xeon yelled like a monster while blood flew out of his mouth. Ezta stepped back with his surviving troops. He was satisfied since he felt he killed Xeon.

But to Ezta's surprise, that sword stab was nothing to Xeon!

After gagging for a minute, Xeon started to laugh and stood up tall with the sword still stabbed though his gut! He was like a zombie! He removed the sword and threw it aside, laughing some more, regenerating afterward.

"Wow, Ezta! You thought you could stop the Great Xeon? Think again punk! I'll shish-kabob you!"

Xeon yelled as he charged at Ezta with his gruesome sword. Just on time, a trooper stood in front of Ezta and took Xeon's blow, making blood fly everywhere from the stab.

"You fool! Why did you go do that?" Ezta demanded to the dying soldier.

"I… am… sorry…"

The soldier died in front of Ezta. He kicked him aside and tired to shoot Xeon with a Zetroidian magnum, which was much better and destructive than an ordinary magnum.

Obviously because Xeon was way too fast, Ezta missed. Xeon took out two machine guns from each hand and fired at the soldiers. The soldiers tried to fire back, but Xeon was too fast for them.

In the end, Xeon could only run away, since he was running out of ammunition and felt like he was wasting his time. The army was in pursuit of him though, so occasionally, Xeon fired his guns behind him.

Near an adult nightclub in the heart of the town, Xeon stumbled upon a very classy car. All cars in Zetroid were classy, but this car went beyond! It was sleek, black, and powerful. He saw the owner of the car come out with an attractive woman. Xeon killed both of them and stole the car. He traveled at speeds of 100 miles per hour on busy streets! Every car crashed onto each other to get out the way of Xeon, and he liked it that way.

"You what!?"

Ezta called Gholt via an intercom speaker to tell him the bad news of not killing Xeon.

"We couldn't catch up to him, sir. He got away with a Gojux Omega!"

"Are you kidding me!? Those are one of the hottest cars in Zetroid! Damn him! Where is he heading?"

"I'm not quite sure. Though we believe he is going westward."

"Alright then. Get him!"

"Yes sir."

It had been two days since Xeon attacked Editifen. The Gojux Omega he stole in the neighboring town was officially his. He removed all items from the previous owner and stuffed every compartment with guns and bombs of all sorts. He installed his portable turret again, which added quite a nice touch to the car.

He was driving on an outskirt expressway. He passed a sign what said in Zetroidian,

Downtown Uraki Hingh

5 Miles

Xeon smirked. He made it to Uraki Hingh faster than he thought. He could already imagine the death of Keft Gholt.

After several minutes, Xeon made it into the downtown district of the enormous city. Just as Ross Thomas saw in Uraki Xi, Uraki Hingh was lined up with skyscrapers everywhere. Expressways and other routes zigzagged above and below.

Xeon prowled around the city for a Teleporter, but he couldn't find any.

Meanwhile, a police officer was sitting in her car looking at a photo of 'Xeon's Car'. She and other officers in the area were given this photo so they could easily find Xeon. After putting a photo down and applying her lipstick, she saw Xeon's vehicle form her rearview mirror. She turned back and pursued him.

"Damn! There's a cop after me," Xeon thought aloud.

He put the car on auto-drive and packed up all of his weapons.

The officer tried to shoot Xeon, but she would always miss by a thread. Xeon quick placed a bomb in the car and jumped out. The officer crashed her car at his, causing an explosion.

Xeon turned behind the fire and rubble that remained looking around vigilantly. Luckily for him, he spotted a special card right out the rubble when he looked back. It was the officer's Teleporter Pass, which was required before accessing a Teleporter. Obviously being a criminal, Xeon wasn't liable to register for a Teleporter Pass. So he took the Pass and walked around the empty lifeless block, looking for a Teleporter.

He saw more cops prowling around the streets, looking for him, but he hid in the shadows of the city. He snuck by an adult bar and saw a Teleporter, just what he was looking for. But the problem was that he didn't know how to operate one. By it, Xeon found a fine-looking guy with five alluring ladies surrounding him. They were walking out of the bar. Xeon walked up to the guy.

"Tell me how to use this!" Xeon barked, pointing at the Teleporter.

The guy looked like a proud big shot, so he laughed.

"Wow. Talk about grouchy! Why should I tell you, big guy? You think you're so hot with your style?"

Xeon was loosing patience. He ringed the guy's neck.

"Ack! St…op… I'll give you… one of my ladies!"

Xeon shot all five of the guy's ladies. He was definitely loosing more patience by the second.

"Show me now!!" Xeon barked in his face.

In terrible fear, the guy took the card Xeon stole and activated the Transporter. He was typing numbers and pressing buttons to open a mini-portal inside. He hesitantly gave the card back to Xeon, but Xeon tossed it backward and shot him.

Finally, Xeon could warp himself to Zetropolis, the final destination. He entered and saw nothing but black and purple for a few moments. Then he made it into another Teleporter, which was sitting in the downtown of Zetropolis! He made it. Xeon smirked.

"Finally," Xeon thought aloud. "I can finally have my revenge."

Xeon snuck though the dark streets of Zetropolis like a vampire. He looked around for anything that could be of use to him.

While trying to figure where Zetroid's Government Headquarters was, he stumbled upon a police officer making out with what seemed to be the officer's girlfriend on top of his police car. Xeon had an idea and he grinned like a madman.

He walked up to both of them and tapped the shoulder of the officer.

"Hey! What the-"

But Xeon suddenly shot the both of them. He laughed to himself. He took the officer's coat and wore it over his. Then he took the officer's keys and went into his car. Inside he found a navigation system, just what he needed to find Keft Gholt. He also found a police helmet, so he wore it. Now Xeon looked like a police officer! He laughed to this thought, imagining how a police officer betrayed the dictator by shooting him.

He started the car and drove on the main expressways in Zetropolis, hoping that he would find the Government Headquarters easier. He inputted the Headquarters on the navigation system and it showed directions to it on the screen along with a map.

With this technology, Xeon made it to the Government Headquarters in no time. He noticed that the building was heavily guarded and secured, but since he looked like a police officer, the guards let him through. He tried not to smirk, thinking how easy it was to break into the heart of Zetroidian Government.

He used maps posted on the wall of the building to find where Gholt's office was, using the 'You Are Here' markers. He went on elevators and snuck through security features like Eye Identification, which he just simply ask some guard to do. Xeon never knew how easy it was to get into a place such as this.

Keft Gholt was flirting with two attractive ladies. Both ladies acted exotic and suggestive. But Gholt was interrupted by a call, which made him rather angry.

"What do you want!" Gholt barked on the phone.

"Um… sir…" the communication manager hesitated, "There was an officer who wanted to see you."

"An officer! What the hell! I was busy doing something!!"

"Um… but… sir… He said it was urgent. He said it was news about Xeon."

"Really? Fine. Let him in."

"Yes sir."

Gholt hung up. The ladies were rather curious.

"Why were they disturbing us?" one of the ladies complained.

"Sorry, baby. We are at war with this killer, who apparently is causing all sorts of commotion. They're sending someone down who had news about this killer. But don't worry, once I'm done, we'll get back to our fun."

The door into the office suddenly opened and inside came an officer with no expression whatsoever. This didn't really bother Gholt, who was rather impatient.

"Well? Tell me! Is Xeon alive?" Gholt demanded.

The officer suddenly grinned like a maniac. Gholt and the ladies were stunned when they saw the officer remove his helmet, revealing that it was Xeon himself!

"Yes… Keft Gholt. I am alive!"

Instantly, Xeon got out two shotguns and shot the ladies in the hearts. Gholt was afraid and angry at the same time. He didn't expect Xeon to be in his office at all.

"Why you son of a –"

But before he could finish, Xeon shot Gholt on the foot using his favorite mega-pistol. Xeon was very happy, since he looked forward to this. He laughed.

"You know Keft Gholt? I've been looking forward to this day!" Xeon grinned. "Yes. To see you fall is like seeing this nation of yours fall. I love it! Seeing your disgusting face in fear! You took the pleasure of burning my mother and sister to ashes, right?"

"I don't know who you're talking about!" Gholt moaned.

"Shut up!!" Xeon roared. "You will suffer! Time to die!"

Xeon shot Gholt at all the inconsequential areas. He did this so he didn't kill Gholt just yet; he wanted him to suffer a lot.

"P-Please…! Don't…"

But then Xeon shot him on the thigh. He bellowed in pain.

"Having fun?" Xeon asked atrociously.

"Don't… kill… me…"

"What's all you can say? Pity. Those must be your last words then!"

Xeon took out a weapon he never used yet, a flamethrower. He aimed it at Gholt and roasted him to death! Gholt screeched like a dying zombie. Xeon only laughed.

The flamethrower was so powerful that it literally turned Gholt to roasted ashes. At last, Xeon had his revenge. He continued to laugh like a psycho. That was when he felt a bullet go though his gut! He bellowed and turned around insanely. Behind him were Nater Ezta and his troops. Unfortunately for Ezta, Gholt was already long dead.

"You! How dare you kill the leader of this wonderful nation!" Ezta sneered. Xeon was surrounded by troopers aiming advanced weaponry at him. Xeon had an escape route though. He looked at the office windows behind him and broke out!

Ezta and his men looked down the broken window as Xeon swooped down the building!

"Damn it! Get back downstairs!" Ezta commanded.

Meanwhile, Xeon landed onto a parked car, which got crushed by the impact! Xeon was fine, but he had to escape. Knowing he killed the dictator of Zetroid, he would be the number one wanted man. He saw Ezta's troops again, firing at him.

Xeon ran at his lethal speed away from the commercial district of Zetropolis. The troops had hover-bikes, which went at the same rate as Xeon unimaginable running speed.

The troops chased him into the enormous and heavily polluted industrial district of Zetropolis. The factories were so big, that they were like skyscrapers.

Xeon faced additional armies, which made it harder for him to escape. He went into a nuclear chemical compound building. The troopers chased him inside. Xeon ran into random hallways and shot down troops either one-by-one or in small groups. He used a wide range of weapons, like his FSCS, flamethrower, light saber, shotguns, machine guns, magnums, and other sort of weapons. His main concern was killing Ezta, but Xeon was facing a problem; he realized that slowly and surely his body was weakening. This was probably due to the intense stress and work his body had to go through the last few days. Xeon was in a chemical processing room. While he pushed troops and scientists into acid tanks, an elite sniper who was part of Ezta's division shot Xeon in the chest.

Xeon fell to the ground. He did get up eventually, but he did so weakly. He was panting.

"_Damn! My body's not working with me. Hang in there."_

Xeon noticed something he would probably not want ever happening; the troops cornered him in the room. He had nowhere to go this time. Ezta came up to Xeon and smirked.

"This is for killing our leader!"

Ezta was wearing a metal glove on his hand, which he used to choke Xeon. The metal glove also emitted dangerous levels of electricity! Ouch! Xeon was roaring in pain.

After eight seconds, Ezta dropped Xeon on the ground. Everyone thought he was dead.

After several seconds though, Xeon got back up slowly and weakly. Instead of killing Xeon, Ezta thought of something different.

"Hey, you!" Ezta pointed at a trooper, "Get the portal device ready. I'm warping him far away from Zetroid so he never returns."

"Yes sir."

The trooper got a portal ready, which would teleport Xeon into any random part of Planet Mushroom, but not in Zetroid. Soon after, a purple portal appeared in front of Xeon and Ezta. Ezta threw him into this portal. This was perhaps the end of Xeon.

"Good job boys." Ezta said, finally glad Xeon is gone.

About an hour later, the Zetroidian Government decided that Keft Gholt's younger brother, Heffer Gholt would be the new dictator. Heffer Gholt looked nothing like his brother. He was a giant fat man who always frowned and always liked to mock others. Ezta and his men were considered heroes for apparently, 'ridding of the enemy'. The brainwashed nation was saddened by the death of Keft Gholt, but they looked forward to Heffer Gholt, whose domestic policies made the rich, lively, and the popular happier.

It was very late at night in a hilly region. The region was absolutely beautiful compared to the urban Zetroid. Stars glittered out in the night sky.

Xeon was lying on a hill unconscious for who knows how many hours. He got back up and looked around, slightly startled by the new environment.

The first thing he thought was,

"_Arg! Where the hell am I?"_

Although fortunately, Xeon didn't feel so bad at all, considering how much agony he went though the last time he was conscious. He walked around the foreign hills carefully. A few moments later, he found an interesting sign.

Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom!

The Land of Sincerity

The sign also had mushroom and a fire flower on it. Xeon suddenly had a sudden thought in his head. He remembered how his father was called filth for being a 'Mushroomer'. Could this so-called 'Mushroom Kingdom' be the place where Mushroomers lived?

"This is the Mushroom Kingdom huh?" Xeon said aloud. "Hmm… interesting."

Curious about the land where his father supposedly originated, Xeon walked in the lands of the Mushroom Kingdom. He wasn't aware of the place, so he snuck between forests, which might mean interesting encounters!


	30. Starman Festival

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Mushroom Kingdom, Koopas, Subcon, Peach, Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth, Daisy, Toad, Toadette, and Birdo (C) Nintendo.

Starman Festival custom and Star Ball tradition (C) me.

Starman Festival

The peace in the Mushroom Kingdom was more marvelous than ever. Soon after Peach and her friends returned from Subcon, news of how they saved the land from Koopas spread around the Mushroom Kingdom like wildfire. Everyone cheered.

The era of tranquility continued on past December. The Mushroomers were very happy that this year they could celebrate the Starman Festival without a single bit of worry. The Starman Festival was a joyous and grand celebrated by Mushroomers and Sarasans on the twenty-forth and twenty-fifth of December. The holiday united family and friends as they feasted in grand dinners, told stories, hosted fabulous parties, and other festive activities. Festival lights luminated towns, villages, and cities alike. Children would get presents and all got laughter and enjoyment.

It was tradition that the Mushroomer Royal Family hosted a grand royal party called the Star Ball, in which Mushroomer nobles were invited to have a wonderful time at Peach's Castle. Guests would dance in the throne room, which served as a ballroom during the event.

Peach would be dreadfully excited during the Starman Festival. It was snowing calmly outside, which made the Mushroom Kingdom look like a winter-wonderland. Peach and Toadsworth oversaw the preparations to the Star Ball; they made sure everything was perfect.

Peach didn't hesitate at all to invite the Mario Brothers to the Star Ball. On the morning of the twenty-fourth, Mario looked into his mailbox and saw a royally fashioned letter. It said that Mario and Luigi were invited to the annual Star Ball at Peach's Castle. Mario and Luigi were really excited, but they were also a little concerned, since only people of noble class attended the Star Ball. That evening, when the Ball began, everyone seemed to cheerfully invite the Brothers, which completely contradicted the Brothers' worriment.

Everyone had a wonderful time at the Ball, including the Brothers. Princess Daisy was also there. Luigi was a little shy to confront Daisy at first, but soon they began to engage in joyful conversation. Before the actual Ball began, Toadsworth instructed the Brothers to wear fancy suits that he provided. When they changed and confronted Peach, she jumped for joy and beamed saying how handsome they looked.

When the dancing began, many offered to dance with Peach and Daisy, but Peach chose to dance with Mario and Daisy chose to dance with Luigi. It was such a wonderful surprise! Everyone had a great time.

The twenty-fifth would be just as joyful as the previous. Peach invited the Brothers again. She just wanted to have a good time with them. One time, they went outside and Peach started a snowball fight. Toad and Toadette also got involved. Even Birdo joined in, just in time! Although it didn't last long because they quickly found out that Mario was unknowingly a professional snowball fighter. Everyone laughed. Toadsworth came out with a camera and took pictures of them playing in the snow. Many memories were made during these times of serenity.


	31. Imprisonment in the Castle

**Like You've Never Seen Her Before**

By Falco-JIS

Mushroom Kingdom, Koopas, Bowser, Peach, Mario, Luigi, Toad, Toadsworth, Power Stars, Endless Stairs, Bob-ombs, King Bob-omb, Boos, Bomb Buddies, Koopas, Goombas, and Lakitus (C) me.

Imprisonment in the Castle

There seemed to be no end to the happiness the Mushroomers experienced in these times. It quickly became January 1992 and by the twentieth, Princess Peach celebrated her eighteenth birthday with the Mario Brothers for the first time. It was a wonderful occasion.

Now slowly and surely, it became mid-March. The spring breeze was refreshing and nice, since the winter was always cold. The meadows and grasslands in Starman Valley was something equivalent to paradise. Mario and Luigi were looking forward to the spring. They also knew that someone in the local area might call them for plumbing problems. One day, they got a call from the town near Peach's castle. Luigi insisted that he would go fix the problem; he was in a very exceptional mood that day.

As Luigi left, Mario didn't know what to do; with Luigi being called to town, his job might take all day. Mario pointed out to himself that he might just as well relax at home, or aid the Princess, if she needed any that was.

Rather bored, Mario retrieved some letters from the mailbox and found that in the large pile of fan mail (the Brothers became heroic icons, so they unintentionally had many fans), he found a lovely envelope. He didn't think twice that it was probably from the Princess. He sat on his casual armchair and read the letter. It said,

Dear Mario and Luigi,

Please come to the castle. I've baked a cake for you. It's my token for having such wonderful friends like you.

Yours truly,

Princess Toadstool

Peach

Mario became excited after reading this letter. He was always happy when the Princess invited Luigi and him over to the castle. But the problem was they Luigi was off to work at the town. Maybe Mario should visit Peach anyway, but tell her that Luigi was working now. He couldn't help but do so; he never tired of seeing Peach's blue eyes and golden hair. It was always an honor for Mario to visit such a beautiful person.

With that thought, Mario headed off to the castle. He felt that it was very peaceful around today; perhaps a bit too peaceful. Not like there was always noise at the castle, but Mario couldn't help but notice that it was very silent. He stood in front of the grand doors with the feeling. Did something happen or was it just him?

Forgetting about the thought, Mario entered the castle. He was in the lobby room, which linked to some of the hallways of the castle. The lobby had an upper ledge with stairs in the middle leading to it. The walls were beautifully blue with something like a mural of the clouds and hills of the Mushroom Kingdom painted. But there was just one problem: there was nobody inside. Usually there would be a Toadish guard at the door, but there seemed to be no one.

"Hello…?" Mario called out nervously. "Where did-a everyone go?"

Suddenly, Mario heard a deep, monstrous voice. It seemed very familiar. Mario couldn't see the source of the voice. Perhaps it was telepathic communication.

"Welcome," the voice grouched, "No one's home! Now scram… and don't come back! Gwahahaha!"

Mario was concerned now. He recognized this voice from somewhere; it was at the tip of his tongue. He quickly ran to the door that led to the throne room, but it was locked!

Fearing the worst, Mario ran to the door that led to the living room. That was locked too!

"Just great!" Mario said appalled. "All the doors are locked."

"Mario!"

Mario flipped out. He heard another voice, but this time it was much friendlier. He quickly recognized it as Toad's voice.

"Toad? Is that you?" Mario called out.

"Oh thank heavens you came, Mario! Bowser locked the Princess and all of us inside the walls. He stole the Power Stars, which protect this castle, and he's using their magic to take over the land! All the painting in castle warp to Koopa invaded areas. Please, you must retrieve the Power Stars! Bowser's henchmen have them. We are all depending on you!" Toad's voice cried.

"Wait…? You're inside the walls? Is there a way I can break into the walls?"

"Mario, it's hard to explain! Just get the Stars. Don't crash into the walls. We're not _in_ the walls; we're _embedded_ into them!"

"Alright. Got'cha. Don't worry, Toad!"

"Hurry!"

Soon, Toad's voice started to fade. Mario couldn't waste a second. He tried to open a minor door. Fortunately for him, it swung open. Inside was a rather small room with a large painting of some place in the Mushroom Kingdom. It looked like it was part of the Mushroom Hills Province. It had a picture of a Bob-omb on it.

Mario remembered Toad saying how the paintings in the castle warp to other Koopa invaded lands. What did that mean? Were the portraits portals of some sort? Mario didn't have time to ponder. Using his instincts, he jumped into the painting! He went right through! But he wasn't in the castle anymore. Mario found himself in hilly grasslands. There were cannons shooting bombs everywhere. It was a war zone. Mario encountered pink Bob-ombs called Bomb Buddies who were on the good side. They pointed out a large hill. On that hill was an enormous Bob-omb with a mustache!

Determined, Mario went through the war zone of cannons and went up the large hill. As Mario suspected, the large Bob-omb had a Power Star. The big Bob-omb chucked smaller Bob-ombs at Mario, but Mario caught these and threw them right back! After doing this three times, the large Bob-omb was defeated and he poofed into thin air. What remained was a Power Star. Once Mario took this, it warped Mario back to the castle.

Ready to explore more rooms for paintings, Mario ventured into another door. This door couldn't be opened before because it was sealed with magic. But the magic of the power star he had broke the seal of the door. Mario entered into a gallery of paintings! These paintings varied from underwater places to small Mushroomer towns to volcanic caverns. There was even a portrait of a ghost house, which was inhabited by the infamous spirits called Boos.

Mario entered each of these paintings, fought various enemies, surpassing many obstacles, and defeated high-ranked minions who worked for Bowser and held Power Stars.

Meanwhile, a sinister monster watched Mario carefully. It was Bowser himself. He was in a dark void which he created and it can only be accessible from Peach's Castle. He made similar dark voids and locked up Princess Peach and her servants. These realms only existed just as long as Bowser had control over the castle. The moment Bowser would lose control, the voids he created would disappear into inexistence and all the imprisoned Mushroomers would be free to roam in the Kingdom again.

After Bowser locked up the Princess and others, he sent his minions to various Mushroomer provinces near the Koopa Empire and secretly invaded them. Each of these places was connected to a painting in the castle making the castle a teleportation hub for the Koopas.

But now that Mario was obtaining more and more Power Stars, Bowser was starting to loose a bit control over the castle. He was furious.

"Hmph! That stinking plumber thinks he can get in the way of my plans again. Such a thing will never happen! Mark my word Mario! I will finish you off for good! Gwahahaha!"

"Sir, that Mario has defeated quite a few of our commanders," a Koopa herald reported.

"Not to worry," said Bowser, rather relaxed, "I'll fight him myself!"

Hearing this, the Koopas cheered. Bowser grinned with pride.

Meanwhile, Mario just defeated a Koopa general and got another Power Star. He was wrapped back to the Castle and he counted all the Stars he had so far. He had achieved getting around fifty, although he didn't know how many there were left. He hoped there weren't a lot because he was starting to get tired. He ran, jumped, and fought for three hours straight. The last thing in his mind was food; and even if he wanted food, the kitchen was probably locked by Bowser's spell.

Fortunately, Mario found a pattern: the more Stars he had, the more doors he could access. Although, he found that he still couldn't access the door that led to the throne room.

While Mario was searching for more rooms, he found a very bizarre phenomenon. He found a set of stairs he never noticed before. He quickly smiled since he thought it led to the second floor, which would allow him to find more paintings. He ran up the stairs. Just kept running and running.

But he wasn't going anywhere, or so he thought. The stairs kept on going forever! There seem to be no end. And another strange thing about the stairs was that at the right wall there were portraits of Princess Peach and on the left were portraits of Bowser!

Since when were there portraits of Bowser in Peach's Castle? That made no sense! Mario came to the conclusion that Bowser and his henchmen obviously place these here. As Mario continued to run up the stairs, he was now certain that the stairs themselves were cursed! Mario stopped and ran back down the Endless Stairs. He quickly made it back down, as if he only walked up a few steps! These stairs were cursed! But why? Was there something up there that Bowser didn't want Mario to see? Mario couldn't afford time to infer. If he didn't get all the Stars in time, the Kingdom might face a terrible catastrophe.

Because of all the Power Stars he had, Mario was now able to access the basement. It was a maze down here! Mario did manage to find another portrait and he went into it.

Inside was a magmatic world of epic proportions. It was boiling hot! Mario traversed across levitating platforms above the lava and fought many hardheaded enemies. Some even tried to ram Mario into the lava! But fortunately, Mario was able to avoid them.

When he made it far enough, he discovered a large platform, floating on lava. It seemed to be an arena of some sort. Mario curiously went to the platform and was surprised to see Bowser himself appear in thin air! He roared a laugh of pride.

"Ah! Mario! So nice to see you again! I remember our last encounter, but don't feel confident! I'll finish you off!"

Mario got into his fighter's stance. Although at first Mario seemed startled to see Bowser so soon, eventually Mario felt that he could defeat him again. He just had to find a way.

Bowser began by using his fire breath. To Bowser's surprise, Mario was able to evade the flames.

"Bwahaha! You think you're going to beat me just because you've become faster? Think again!"

Bowser pounced on the ground several times. This created heavy shockwaves that went in all directions from Bowser. Mario jumped over each of these shockwaves to avoid damage. Bowser was impressed.

"Hmm... I guess I underestimated you again Mario. But you still can't defeat me! What are you going to do besides dodging my attacks! You'll tire eventually!"

Bowser was actually right. Mario couldn't think of any possible way to actually attack Bowser; he could only evade Bowser. Mario had to think of a way to defeat this great foe. But how?

Mario noticed Bowser's slow movements and his tail. Perhaps Mario could run behind Bowser and grab his tail to throw him into the lava.

Getting some damage, Mario managed to get behind Bowser and throw him right into the lava! He took the tail and spun around to have enough energy to throw Bowser. Bowser was hopping up and down with a flame on his tail! When Bowser managed to get back on the platform, he was burnt and defeated.

"Curse you!" Bowser roared, "I'll get you next time!"

He disappeared into thin air, just like all of the other enemies. What remained was a glittering Power Star. Mario felt that the battle wasn't quite over yet. There was much to go.

Meanwhile in her imprisonment, Peach overheard from Koopas that Mario battled with Bowser. She was in a realm specially made for her imprisonment. All around her there were virtually black clouds above and below. She was in a large cage that hovered on a stony platform. The platform was accessible from another hovering narrow platform that was like a walkway. At the end of the walkway was a portal that Bowser or his minions had access to. When Peach heard of Mario's victory, her hopes heightened. She told the good news to Toadsworth, who was imprisoned with her. She prayed that Mario would succeed.

But to her disgust, Peach noticed that Bowser entered from the portal with some Koopas. Bowser laughed as he always did.

"Ah, Princess Peach! How do you do this fine day?" Bowser laughed.

Once again, Peach stared at him in both fear and anger.

"How could you do this to us!?" Peach cried, "Couldn't you have left us in peace?"

"Never!" Bowser laughed, "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard all year! How can I leave you alone? It is my destiny to expand my Empire and to oppress everyone!"

"Says who?!" Peach retorted.

Neither Bowser nor Toadsworth ever expected the Princess to have such a rebellious attitude. But for Bowser, it was very humorous.

"Gwahahahaha! My, you're quite cute when you're feisty!" Bowser laughed.

"Oh really?" Peach exclaimed angrily, "Well guess what, Bowser! Mario will defeat all of you! He has already defeated you before! He will come here and make all of you sorry!"

This statement actually angered Bowser now. He looked so angry that even the Koopas around him started to panic.

"WHAT!? HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!!" Bowser roared.

Now Peach trembled in fear so much that she turned white and cowered behind Toadsworth, who was also afraid but tried to comfort her. What was she thinking? Where did she get the guts to talk back at Bowser like that? After all, Bowser was Peach's biggest fear. She started to cry quietly on Toadsworth's shoulders.

"Hmph. She's just all talk," Bowser mumbled to himself, looking at Peach's tears.

Bowser and his minions go back into the portal, leaving behind Peach and Toadsworth. Peach is still afraid and sad.

"It will be all right," Toadsworth said to Peach softly, "Master Mario will save us."

Mario was quite lucky to have found many Super Mushrooms in both Peach's Castle and in the various Koopa infested regions. But that wasn't the only items he found. Sometimes he would find green blocks with an exclamation mark on them. This would make Mario living metal! It made him heavy and invincible against enemies. Mario would also find blue blocks that made Mario invisible. He even found red blocks that made him fly! Where the origins of these items came from, Mario nor the Koopas would ever understand.

Mario made good use of these mysterious items and the Super Mushrooms to defeat more foes then he ever could do alone and to obtain much more Power Stars. He often wondered how Peach was doing. He hoped the Koopas didn't do anything terrible to her.

He started to explore new places, like in underwater caverns, cloudy skies, and sandy deserts via the portraits. He had to survive man-eating fish and Lakitus to flying on magic carpets and infiltrating Koopa battleships.

As Bowser was given more bad news about Mario's victories, the more Bowser became furious. He was loosing more and more control over the Mushroom Kingdom.

"What could he possibly gain from all of this!?!" Bowser roared as another Goomba told Bowser of Mario's victory over another prominent Koopa commander.

"Now Your Majesty…" the Goomba said hesitantly, "Please calm down!"

"I AM CALM!!"

There was silence as the Goomba and the Koopas worried both about their defeats with Mario and Bowser's temper.

"You know what? That's it! I'm going to kill that damn plumber if it's the last thing I do!" Bowser declared, "He won't see the next day and I will rule the entire Mushroom Kingdom!"

Hearing this, the Koopas and Goombas cheered.

"When will you face Mario?" the Goomba asked.

"I guess when he's ready. I'll wait in my arena realm, which I made within the realms in Peach's Castle. In order for Mario to enter that arena, he has to pass the Endless Stairs, and he has more than enough Power Stars for that."

So laughing as horrendously as usual, Bowser waited patiently for Mario's arrival.

Meanwhile, Princess Peach and Toadsworth were anticipating Mario's victory over Bowser, even though Mario didn't arrive to Bowser's arena yet. Peach was having terrible twinges within her belly. But Peach tried her best to keep quiet about it, so Toadsworth didn't notice.

Suddenly, three Koopas came into the realm from the portal. One was holding a platter with two meals, which were stolen Mushroomer dishes. They were served on Peach's own royal tableware, obviously stolen from her castle. A second Koopa had a platter with two glasses of fresh Mushroomer water, some royal utensils stolen from Peach's castle, and some napkins. The third had a chef's hat; he was a cook. They opened the cage for a short while and put the meal inside where Peach and Toadsworth could reach. Then they closed the cage.

"Lunch is ready, Your Highness," the Koopa chef said happily.

But Peach was sad and dull.

"I'm not hungry," she said softly.

"Now, now, Princess. You surely must eat. You definitely look hungry."

Although the chef seemed to be right since Peach was holding her stomach in a ravenous manner, Peach wasn't really hungry.

She was thirsty.

"Maybe she's parched," one of the Koopas suggested, offering water to Peach.

"No. Just leave me alone!" Peach cried.

"The Princess and I are not in the mood to eat. We will eat later," Toadsworth reassured.

Suddenly, a Koopa commander came into the realm. Coincidently, the commander was the same one who rudely wacked Peach on the head the first time she was captured. This could be told from the scar on his face, which he had back then. He was very harsh, compared to the other Koopas. He seemed to have no apparent reason to be there at the time.

"Is she eating?" the commander asked hoarsely to the cook.

"Um, no sir," the cook replied, "She says she's not hungry."

"Preposterous!" the commander grouched, "She will eat now!"

Now Peach was more intimidated, but she tried to ward the Koopas away.

"Please! I'm not hungry! Just leave me alone! I don't need food!"

"Oh, I see how it is!" the commander said mockingly, "You want someone to rescue you. Right?! Well that's too bad woman! There is no one capable of saving your sorry rear-end! Now eat, fool!"

His statement was so cruel that Peach started to weep, kneeling delicately and covering her face. She was being drained of all hope. It was so sad that even the first three Koopas who came in started to feel bad for her.

"Sir, don't you think you're being too harsh on the Princess?" the cook questioned to the commander.

"What! You dare question me!" the commander exclaimed.

He vigorously pushed the cook off the hovering walkway. The cook yelled as he fell into a bottomless void. Everyone saw the horror. Princess Peach never saw anything more barbaric than that in her life. The other Koopas and Toadsworth were also shocked.

"How can you do that to one of your own kind?" Toadsworth exclaimed in his formal tone, "Do you have any shame?"

"Shut up old man!" the commander exclaimed, "Guys. Knock him out! He isn't having lunch today!"

Out of fear, the two other Koopas obeyed without question. They opened the cage and one of them tried to hit Toadsworth on the pressure point on the neck while the other held Peach so she wouldn't try to stop him.

"No! Let go! Don't hurt him!" Peach cried.

But it was too late. The Koopa already knocked out Toadsworth. The two Koopas who were with the cook looked very sorry, but they had to follow the commander's orders. One of them was still holding Peach.

"Still not eating!?" the commander exclaimed to Peach, "Stupid spoiled brat! You really have no appreciation, do you? You should be thankful that we don't serve our infamous red hot chilly slop like we do to ordinary prisoners!"

"Stop it! Just stop it!" Peach cried, "What do you intend to do by feeding me?"

"Silence woman!" the commander grouched, "Boys! Force feed her!"

At first, everyone else freaked out by the commander's order, but hesitantly, the other Koopas tried to carry it out. One of them was still holding Peach, but this time, he had a hard time keeping a hold of her because she was struggling to escape his grasp. The other Koopa had food and tried to open her mouth. What he saw inside were two lethal fangs. He just noticed a sudden change in Peach. Her eyes were as vicious as a demon's. She was angry. After all the terrible things that this commander demanded, she couldn't stand it anymore. She still perfectly remembered the day when she was captured the first time and he hit her hard on the head. Such a painful experience. Most the Koopas she saw weren't that mean. It was a pain enough just to see this commander again.

The Koopa that looked in Peach's mouth quickly stepped back, freaking out. He dropped the food.

"Hey, what's wrong?" the Koopa still holding Peach asked.

This Koopa was holding her from behind, so he couldn't see her wrathful expression.

"Guys! Is she even Peach!?" the Koopa who had food said.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" the commander bickered, "Who else would that be? Just knock out the stupid rascal!"

Suddenly, Peach grabbed the Koopa behind her and slashed him to death with claws the Koopas didn't even know she had. The commander couldn't comprehend the situation. He thought the Koopa was slashing her, since there was blood flying.

"Help! She's a monster!" the remaining Koopa cried.

With hungry eyes, Peach took the other Koopa and throttled him, slamming him on the cage bars. Now the commander started to understand the situation.

"What the hell!!" the commander exclaimed, surprised.

Still holding the Koopa in her grasp, Peach seductively walked out the cage. She looked at the Koopa quite hungrily. She licked her lips.

"What's wrong with you!?" the chocking Koopa exclaimed, "Please! Don't eat me! We have tons of food, if that's what you want…"

"You poor fool," Peach said in a dark, bloodthirsty tone, "I don't want food." – the Koopa gulped – "I want blood."

"What!? No wait! Please!! Someone help me!!"

But it was too late for him. The commander watched in horror as Peach delicately licked the neck of the Koopa. Her victim's neck was quite salty. But she liked it. The Koopa was more timid now, not being able to defend himself. Peach's claws scratched his shell as she embraced him. She bit his neck as she would bit a human. She savored the Koopa's succulent juices, which was a surprise, since he wasn't a human. Koopa blood had a hint of sweetness, with a touch of spice. It was a wonderful sensation as she slowly took gulps of it. She was as a wild beast who was now tranquil since now she had prey. The commander stood there awestricken as she finished off the Koopa's life. He moaned quietly to his death.

Satisfied, Peach dropped her victim's corpse on the ground. He looked very pale and lifeless. The commander couldn't understand what was going on. Wasn't this Princess Peach? The weak and timid Princess Peach? Unfortunately for him, he was wrong.

"There is no way!" the commander said, slowly walking backward as Peach walked forward.

Peach was now happy to see the commander afraid for a change. But that wasn't enough for her; she wanted to have him for lunch. She was still thirsty. She licked her lips as she imagined savoring her meal.

"You barbarian!" the commander said

"Oh look who's the barbarian!" Peach laughed, happily showing her lustrous fangs, "You're the one who pushed one of your own men off the walkway. You have a very bad attitude as well. It would be quite the pleasure to kill you."

The commander eyes became bloodshot in fear. He was never afraid in his life. He was going to run into the portal where he could get reinforcements, but using extraordinary speed, Peach blocked his access to the portal. Now that was nowhere for him to run.

"Look! I'm sorry for all the bad things I did! Honest!"

"I don't believe you," Peach said in a soft, sadistic tone, "I'll never forgive you. Consider it an honor to be my prey. I'll savor you to the last drop. Mwahahahah!"

The Koopa commander didn't know what to do. At first he thought of jumping off the walkway, but that would have been absolutely foolish since there was literally nothing down there. Then he thought of trying to go head-on with the Princess, but she had claws; who knows what she could do with them? Looking with a hungry stare again, she walked sensuously towards the commander.

"No! Stop! Please! I'll do anything! Really! Anything!"

But Peach wasn't in the mood to show any mercy. She grabbed him and briefly bit him in the neck. Taking only a little blood, she tossed the commander on the other side of the walkway, being careful not to throw him off.

The commander was wheezing in pain. He thought he was dead. Peach looked at his pain and started to laugh.

"Oh my!" Peach laughed sadistically, "You don't know how much I am enjoying this! I sure do have a liking to Koopa blood now!"

This made the commander gulp. There was no way this was Peach. How could it be? She was a total monster. Nothing like the sweet, innocent Princess the Koopas had known.

"What are you!?" the commander said in intense fear.

"Oh my sweet friend, have you not noticed that I am a vampire?"

"What!? Bu… bu… but…?"

Cutting off his talk, Peach dashed to the Koopa, grabbed him, and kicked him with her knees. He yelped in pain. Thirsty again, Peach bit the commander again, but this time didn't let go for a while. She savored his spicy and tangy blood. He moaned like a zombie.

"Hee…llllpp… meeeee…" were the Koopa commander's last words.

Peach was so satisfied that she couldn't help but laugh like a beautiful witch. It wasn't just the fact that she had quenched herself again that gratified her, but also the fact that she killed Koopas, something she wouldn't ever dare do before. Seeing the commander's dead body made her feel warm inside. Finally, this Koopa met his demise; and he deserved it too. She threw him off the walkway effortlessly. His body spun as he fell into the dark abyss.

Peach was calm again. She felt loose all over, since before her muscles were tense from her killings. Now she was a little confused and curious about herself. She didn't understand where she got the gut to kill three Koopas. On top of that, she seemed very strong too. She could only suppose that these were traits of vampires, but she felt there was just more than that.

Now being calm, Peach wondered how she was in an almost fanatical mood earlier. She didn't feel so evil now, unlike before. Although she was happy to have ended the life of the commander, she felt somewhat sorry for the other two Koopas she killed earlier. They were just following orders; otherwise, they would have been nice like the cook.

The way Peach acted merciless, sensuous, and downright vile was very surprising to her. Right now she felt very timid.

"_It's as if there is someone else inside of me,"_ Peach thought, _"Like a split personality."_

But she wasn't a big fan of that theory. If she had a split personality, then that would mean that at any given time, she could be a vicious beast and people will die because of that. This thought wasn't pleasant to her. Deep inside, she didn't want to kill people for amusement. She only wanted to kill for nourishment, like any predator. But ironically, she couldn't help but feel good that she killed the Koopa commander. It was like an act of revenge for being barbaric to her earlier. But was that right?

Peach looked around. She had to remove any evidence that she killed anyone in this dungeon. She looked at the other two corpses and decided to just toss them into the abyss. That way, no one would suspect that they were killed. Peach said her prayers to them and dropped them, falling into the bottomless void. Then Peach cleaned the bloodshed that she caused. Fortunately, there wasn't too much blood. But it was enough to use up all the napkins that were brought in earlier.

Now with everything cleaned and covered up, Peach sighed in relief. She checked on Toadsworth, who was still unconscious. She went back into the cage to see how he was doing, but suddenly, Bowser came into the void, rather happy. Peach was surprised and quickly sat as if she never got up.

"Why nice to see you again, my princess!" Bowser laughed.

Peach didn't comment; she just looked dull. She hoped that Bowser didn't notice anything suspicious.

But to Peach's fear, Bowser noticed that the cage wasn't locked. He closed the cage and locked it. But he didn't seem suspicious of Peach at all.

"Those blasted guards don't know how to lock a cage!" Bowser complained, shaking his fists. "Ah Princess! I see you were smart not to escape."

Peach took this to consideration. She feared what would happened if Bowser came in earlier and saw her killing his men.

"I hope you are comfortable, because you will be right by my side when I defeat Mario and expand my empire. You will still have your precious Mushroom Kingdom, but you have to answer to me. And also, I can do anything I want to your land and your people."

Peach did not reply, but she did look sad. Bowser continued.

"Anyway. I would like to say sorry for my yelling earlier. I would like you to understand me better. Don't worry; you'll be well taken care of when I defeat Mario. You will be honored by many Koopas and will still be a princess. But now you will be the Princess of the Koopa Empire. Now if you will excuse me, I will finish off that rascal of a plumber, Mario. I'll be back with his dead body."

And with that, Bowser walked off into the portal, to the arena. Peach prayed for Mario's safety.

Now Toadsworth woke up again. Peach was relieved.

"Ow… Princess… They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Don't worry about me," Peach said softly, "I'm fine. Here look, there's still food. You go ahead and eat."

There was one dish surviving the killings of the Koopas.

"But Princess. There is only one dish left. I insist; you eat."

"No Toadsworth. It's okay. I'll be fine. I'm not that hungry."

Not wanting to refuse the Princess's offer, Toadsworth ate. Now that she mentioned it, Toadsworth noticed that Peach didn't look that hungry at all.

Mario counted all the Power Stars he had. There were exactly 120 stars. He wondered how many there were in total.

Suddenly he heard a voice.

"Hey! Mario! It's me… Toad!"

"Hey Toad! Are you guys alright?"

"We're fine Mario. Look, you have all the Power Stars!"

Mario was shocked. He didn't know that he managed to collect all of them.

"Mama mia! Are you-a sure?"

"Yes Mario! Look, all you have to do now is defeat Bowser! I hear he's waiting for you. Go to the Endless Stairs. If you defeat him, he'll lose all control over the Castle and the Kingdom! Hurry!"

Toad's voice started to fade again. Mario was more determined than ever now. Before he heard Toad's voice again, Mario was very exhausted from all the fighting and searching. But now that Mario found everything he needed, all he had to do now was to beat Bowser. After that, all the prisoners would be freed and that included Princess Peach.

As Toad said, Mario went back to the Endless Stairs. Without hesitating, he ran up the stairs. There were still portraits of Peach on the right and Bowser on the left, but this time, Mario found the top! It was a narrow room and at the end was a giant portrait of Bowser. In the middle of the room was a square pit. Using instinct, Mario jumped into the pit.

He was surprised to end up in the middle of an arena. It was levitating in the middle of an abyss. Bowser was there, crossing his arms as if waiting impatiently.

"Ah! Mario! It's nice that you visit! It's time to finish this!"

"What do you want from us?"

"Oh Mario! That's such a ridiculous question! It was written in the book of destiny that the Koopas shall reign supreme! Everything, the Mushroom Kingdom and Princess, shall be mine! Bwahahahaha!"

"Oh we'll see about that!" Mario said, determined.

This was it. Bowser quickly used fireball attacks and managed to hit Mario once. Mario got back up but looked rather weak, since he was fighting foes all day.

"Ha! You seem a bit tired Mario! Let me finish you off!"

Bowser used his shockwave pounces, but Mario had enough energy to jump over each one. Bowser was a little impressed, but not impressed enough.

Mario started to notice that when Bowser was stationary whenever he did his fire-breath. Mario took advantage of this and ran behind him. Mario grabbed Bowser's tail and did a spinning throw. Bowser landed on one of the levitating mines outside the platform and crashed back on the arena. He looked burned, but was not defeated yet.

"You're going to have to do better than that to beat me!"

This time Bowser did a dash attack. This was unexpected so he was hit right on! He flew a few meters and almost fell off the arena! Fortunately he was still on solid ground, but Mario was more weak than ever. He knew that one more strike from Bowser would finish him. Bowser laughed.

"Ah, Mario! It is nice to see you wounded for a change. Now to push you off!

Bowser attempted at his dash attack again. Mario saw his end coming. He was tired and hungry. His energy was drained from finding 120 Power Stars. He never expected it to end like this , after all he went through.

Then Mario realized something; if he were defeated, then all the Power Stars he collected would be in Bowser's control. Peach's Castle and the entire Mushroom Kingdom would be a part of the Koopa Empire. And worst of all, Princess Peach would always be in Bowser's claws. It was a horrible thought for Mario. The dear, sweet Princess didn't deserve such a fate. He couldn't possibly comprehend to torture she would go through if he lost.

"_Mario__…__!!"_

Mario thought he heard Peach's voice calling for him. Was it just in his head? Whether it was or not, Mario determination was renewed. He had to win! There was no such thing as losing at this moment. He had to remain victorious. For the Mushroom Kingdom! For the Princess!

To Bowser's surprise, Mario immediately got up and dashed around Bowser. This caused Bowser to lose control of his speed. He tried to stop but momentum caused him to move forward. At this rate, he was standing right on the edge of the arena! He also was starting to lose his balance; he could fall into the abyss!

Mario looked as Bowser was very vulnerable at that moment. He could have done one of two things; either he pushed Bowser off, or take Bowser by the tail and throw him at a mine again.

Mario decided to throw Bowser to a mine again. Deep inside, Mario would never want to kill anyone, not even Bowser. All the foes Mario faced so far were knocked out, not killed.

Mario used all the energy he had left in him when he spun Bowser around and around. Bowser crashed on a mine as Mario anticipated and was smoked in the center of the arena. He was defeated!

"Nooooo!! Bowser moaned, "It can't be! You've beaten me!! I gave those troops power! How did you defeat them all! It's all fading away! Arg! I can see peace return to the Mushroom Kingdom! It sickens me! Mark my word Mario! I'll be back some day! This isn't over yet…!"

The place started to rumble. Mario didn't know where the exit was. Then everything started to turn white…

Mario was lying in front of Peach's Castle. He got up and noticed that there were Toadish, all of them looking at him.

"Yes! He's alive!" one of them cheered.

Then Mario saw Toad.

"You did it Mario! You saved us all!"

Then everyone saw something appear levitating in front of the stained glass of the castle. It was Toadsworth and Princess Peach! Peach had her eyes closed and her hands folded as if she were praying. They both hovered to ground on the stone bridge used to access the castle. When Peach landed, she opened her eyes and looked at Mario with an expression of gratefulness. Mario took his hat off and bowed. Peach came up to him and kissed his nose. He became cherry red.

"Mario. You have restored power back to the castle by collecting all the Power Stars. Now the Mushroom Kingdom has returned to normal. And it's all thanks to you! We have to do something special for you! What do you say guys?"

Everyone cheered. But suddenly, they saw Luigi running towards them in the background. He bent down and panted when he arrived.

"Mama mia! Bro. What-a happened?" Luigi panted, "I heard about Bowser's invasion! Is it really true?"

"You don't have to worry about anything, Luigi," Peach beamed, "Mario took care of Bowser. Everything will be safe and sound again."

Suddenly, Mario started to feel weary. He was about to fall, but Peach caught him.

"Oh my!" said Peach, "I think Mario used up most of his energy. Quick! Guys, take him into the castle."

Five Toadish carried Mario into the living room, which wasn't locked anymore. Luigi turned to Peach.

"Um, Princess… Will my bro be alright?"

"Oh of course he will!" Peach smiled, "All he needs and some food and rest. Actually, I was planning to celebrate Mario's victory with the cake I made earlier today, so stick around. Mario is bound to get better soon."

"Alright."

About half an hour later, Mario got back up from sleeping on the large living room couch. Everyone surrounded him, including Toadsworth, Luigi, and Peach.

"Mama mia! What happened?" Mario exclaimed, now wide-awake.

"You defeated Bowser, remember?" Peach said, "You lost your energy not so long ago, so now that you are all better, we can celebrate a wonderful triumph!"

So once again, the people of the Mushroom Kingdom could celebrate for the second time their victory over the Koopa. Mario was now more prominent than ever. He was honored once again. And he also got to eat some of Peach's cake (which was sweet to the last morsel). His triumph would be remembered for a long, long time.


End file.
